Bonjour!!!!
Well.... this email is going to pretty short because the internet café decided to not have internet for a while and we are meeting up with some other missionaries in a little bit....so Ill try my hardest to keep things pretty concise.It will be easy since this week can pretty much be summed up in one word. EMOTIONAL.
Where to start. Well....everyone pretty much knows how much I detest, loath, and dread change. I think a mission is going to be very good at curing me of that because things change constantly. Seriously. Constantly. I used to think six weeks was a long time. Like when people would tell me that they did a study abroad in Paris for six week. Pre-mission life I probably would have been like 'woah...your cool'. But now six weeks is a blink and all the sudden Im forced to experience CHANGE again. Missions have this awful system called transfers...which last six weeks. So for the first two weeks you are trying to find your groove- what your companion is like, what the area is like, find people to teach, etc. The next two weeks are awsome. You know the area (kind of), you have a system with your companion, etc. Then the last two weeks is spent agonizing and praying that whatever happens next transfer will be good. Hoping you will get a good a companion or area, the people you are teaching will get baptized, etc. THEN the whole awful system starts over again. Ugh. Last transfer, the amount of change was kept minimal. I stayed in the same place, with the same companion. But this transfer, change was necessary ( Soeur Pearce thinks that she can like go home and be with her family and move on with life and stuff...rude; I know) So I knew change was coming. Sigh.....
So on top of all the emotions that go along with change Ive also been experiencing all the emotions of loosing Soeur Pearce. Ok Ive probably been sappy enough in my past emails and you guys are probably sick of hearing how amazing she is. But Im going to go through a serious struggle sending her off!!! We talked about it this week and we've decided we are like a couple that is being forced to break up. You know like one of those cheesy war films where the soldier has to go off to war and they never see each other again. Except that we aren't a couple. And we will see each other again. And she isn't going off to war, rather she is going home to a cruise with her family. Hmmmmm...maybe our attempt at making our situation really tragic failed completely.....but still we are thinking with the emotions! That means we arent exactly being rational....
But, as usual, Heavenly Father has a sense of humor. Turns out CHANGE CAN BE GOOD. Shocking I know. But I am staying in Paris for my third transfer. And my new companion is Soeur Williams, who has not only been my roommate for the past two transfers because she was serving in the other Paris ward, but she is also someone I know and love!!!! Seriously, she is adorable. This doesnt diminish how much Im going to miss Soeur Pearce, but I think Ive come to the realization that change isnt scary. Actually its necessary. If things didnt change, then we wouldn't every appreciate everything we have. What is that scripture... opposition in all things. As one wise elder explained to Soeur Pearce this week " Missions are like contacting. If you follow someone down the street even after they've rejected you, it gets awkward. So if you linger in your mission for longer than your supposed to then things just get awkward." So just for the sake of keeping things non-awkward I guess the transfer system isn't THAT bad. For now Ill just be grateful I get another 6 weeks in Paris!!!!!
Love you all!!
Soeur Smith
PS Zdravko is getting baptized this week!!!!!!!
PPS. I finally figured out to attach pictures! Yes I can be smarter than the computer!!! So here are few for you! I still cant figure out how to label them...so for now you'll just have to kind of guess where they are from. The girl with long blonde hair is Soeur Pearce...I think I attached another one of me with Soeur Williams. And the group in front of the Eiffel Tower is my district from Transfer one....other than that I can't remember what else I attached to good luck figuring it out :)
Monday, July 18, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
July 11, 2011
Bonjour!!!
Well this has been a big week. We had exchanges with Brussels. Went to Normady for the baptism of a former investigator of Soeur Pearce's. We celebrated the 4th of July. Soeur Pearce's time on the mission is winding down. And of course, we started teaching Zdrafko. I wish you all could meet Zdrafko. Instead, Ive decided his prayers summarize my week better than I can... so Im sending you his prayers in hopes you get a gist for just how great he is...and crazy every week is on the mission. But this is only going to work if you picture a man that resembles Kramer from Seinfield (mom you were right on the dot!!!) and speak with your thickest russian accent...
Well this has been a big week. We had exchanges with Brussels. Went to Normady for the baptism of a former investigator of Soeur Pearce's. We celebrated the 4th of July. Soeur Pearce's time on the mission is winding down. And of course, we started teaching Zdrafko. I wish you all could meet Zdrafko. Instead, Ive decided his prayers summarize my week better than I can... so Im sending you his prayers in hopes you get a gist for just how great he is...and crazy every week is on the mission. But this is only going to work if you picture a man that resembles Kramer from Seinfield (mom you were right on the dot!!!) and speak with your thickest russian accent...
Prayer 1
Dear Heavenly Father,
Je suis Zdrafko.
I went to work today and talk with good people in this beautiful city of Paris.
And now I am with the missionaries, who are definately not bad people.
Very good people. And brother 'Keem (the member we teach with whose name is actually Ah-King)
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Je suis Zdrafko.
I went to work today and talk with good people in this beautiful city of Paris.
And now I am with the missionaries, who are definately not bad people.
Very good people. And brother 'Keem (the member we teach with whose name is actually Ah-King)
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Well Zdrafko summed up a large part of our week when he said he is with "very good people". Our 4th of July was awsome! We went and ate bbq pork sandwhichs with cheetos and rootbeer with all of the missionaries from our ward. Even though we counted and the non-american missionaries outnumbered the american missionaries in our little band in never hurts to be surrounded by good people and familar food! This week we also had exchanges! We exchanged with the sisters up in Brussels- who just happens to be my MTC companion Soeur Dawson! So for the second time this transfer I got to take a TGV ( that means a really fast train...) up to Brussels and spend a day and night there! It was so cool to go teaching with Soeur Dawson and see the progression that we have both made since leaving the MTC...turns out I actually have learned a few things! I think if you had told me on one of those really hard days in the MTC right after teaching a fake investigator in caveman french that Soeur Dawson and I were going to be doing the exact same thing only with the real in person in a mere 2 months...I would have said you were crazy! But we did it! Brussels was great, although Im not going to lie I experienced extreme seperation anxiety being away from Soeur Pearce for that long! It was good to have an adventure but it felt so right to get back to Paris. Overall my favorite person we spent time with this week though has got to be Zdrafko...just so can get to know him a little bit here are some of the best quotes from him:
- While watching the Restoration film, and Joseph Smith was praying, he turns and says "Im in the same moment"
-(We took Zdrafko to a baptism this week and asked him if he had been to a baptism before. He said he went to his mom's, when I asked what he thought he said it was interesting. When I asked if it was a good interesting or a bad interesting he said...)ZDRAFKO: "Do you like Vancouver, Calgary, or Toronto better? They are all Olympic cities..."
ME: they are all different.
ZDRAFKO: "Exactly"
.........thank you Zdrafko that clears it all up (!?!?!?!?)
-(Me asking him about his future plans...) "No, no, no. THE BAPTISM IS FOR SURE. All other decisions come after that"
-(While teaching him the word of wisdom and law of chastity, including our stance on abortions, in the same lesson) "What if on the écran (screen) you see the future baby, for example, has 3 eyes and 10 fingers, on one main (hand)" We explain, even then you dont get an abortion but if you are living the commandments, such as the Word of Wisdom, then chances of those things happen go down. He responds " I feel lucky I dont have problems with those things"...... We were practically screaming your right Zdrafko you were prepared by the Lord to except the gospel :)
Ok... maybe he is only funny/endearing in real life...but if you aren't laughing just reread those quotes outloud in a russian accent... funny yet? OK if your not convinced here is his second prayer of the week...
- While watching the Restoration film, and Joseph Smith was praying, he turns and says "Im in the same moment"
-(We took Zdrafko to a baptism this week and asked him if he had been to a baptism before. He said he went to his mom's, when I asked what he thought he said it was interesting. When I asked if it was a good interesting or a bad interesting he said...)ZDRAFKO: "Do you like Vancouver, Calgary, or Toronto better? They are all Olympic cities..."
ME: they are all different.
ZDRAFKO: "Exactly"
.........thank you Zdrafko that clears it all up (!?!?!?!?)
-(Me asking him about his future plans...) "No, no, no. THE BAPTISM IS FOR SURE. All other decisions come after that"
-(While teaching him the word of wisdom and law of chastity, including our stance on abortions, in the same lesson) "What if on the écran (screen) you see the future baby, for example, has 3 eyes and 10 fingers, on one main (hand)" We explain, even then you dont get an abortion but if you are living the commandments, such as the Word of Wisdom, then chances of those things happen go down. He responds " I feel lucky I dont have problems with those things"...... We were practically screaming your right Zdrafko you were prepared by the Lord to except the gospel :)
Ok... maybe he is only funny/endearing in real life...but if you aren't laughing just reread those quotes outloud in a russian accent... funny yet? OK if your not convinced here is his second prayer of the week...
Prayer 2Dear Heavenly Father
This is Zdrafko. I am here with Sister Pearce, Sister McClean (I was in Belgium) and Brother Keem.
I want to ask that my future daughter can have a beautiful angel voice like Sister Pearce.
Thank you for that blessing.
Amen.
This is Zdrafko. I am here with Sister Pearce, Sister McClean (I was in Belgium) and Brother Keem.
I want to ask that my future daughter can have a beautiful angel voice like Sister Pearce.
Thank you for that blessing.
Amen.
How cute is that?? Zdrafko has more faith than half of members, when he asks for something he is grateful even before he gets an answer. I think this sums up alot about a mission. So often you don't see the fruits of your labor. Whether its that you feel like your constantly planting seeds or just that you never really see your own progression...its hard to know that the day to day grind of mission life is actually making a difference. Until you have moments like when we went up to Caen for the day. This is the last city Soeur Pearce served in. We went to watch a baptism of one of the women she found and taught. I dont even know how to describe how strong the spirit was when she and another man were baptized. Those are the moments when you know some of the most heartfelt prayers from your mission are being listened too. Another moment that made me realize my prayers are listened too happened as Soeur Pearce and I walked home last night. We decided to walk home along the Seine rather than take the metro. I wish I could do the evening justice. It was perfect temperature, there was an accordian player and a magician on the bridges, everyone was walking slowly and eating ice cream like they were squeezing the last bit of weekend out their Sunday. Im sure at other times of my life it could have had the potential to be quite romantic...but for now I just got to feel my heart swell for gratitude for being able to serve here in the France, Paris mission. Although I still don't speak french perfectly, and I know I have alot of blood, sweat and tears ahead of me. I can be grateful and say 'dear Heavely Father. My mission will change/changed my life. Thank you for that blessing' I know all to soon Ill be looking back and missing those summer evening in Paris.
Prayer 3Dear Heavenly Father
Today I am excited because I understand that it is my baby 10 year birthday.
I am happy to be with Soeur Pearce, Soeur Smith, and Brother 'Keem,
and hopy my future first child can be named Pearce, Smith, or Keem.
Amen.
Today I am excited because I understand that it is my baby 10 year birthday.
I am happy to be with Soeur Pearce, Soeur Smith, and Brother 'Keem,
and hopy my future first child can be named Pearce, Smith, or Keem.
Amen.
Ok this prayer takes some explaining. So after we taught him the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity he then explained to us that these commandments are going to protect his future family. And so today, the day he committed to living those commandments, is actually the birthday for his future children because he is building the foundation for his future children and making sure they are going to be healthy (and not end up with 3 eyes or 10 fingers on one hand) This prayer just reminds me of really how every step in the gospel is a new beginning. That is why our gospel is a gospel of hope. There is a chance to change and constantly become better, and build a better future. This week has been emotional. I think I have felt more than I have felt at any other time in my life. I felt extreme sorrow as I worry about our investigators and think about unfair life has been to them. I have felt pride as we watch the baptisms of people with very difficult pasts find hope in the gospel. I have felt inadequcy from feeling like you can never really 'do' a mission correctly or speak perfectly. I felt pain in my stomach from laughing so hard with Soeur Pearce. And I have felt pure joy, like during moments when Soeur Pearce is reflecting her mission and preparing to say goodbye, and I feel so lucky to be apart of this work and to dedicate my life at this time to it. At moments, these extreme emotions have embarssingly brought me to tears. It was during one of these moments our wise rommate, Soeur Williams, summed it up so perfectly. She said
"On your mission you have to use parts of your heart and parts of brain you've never used before. So you have to give yourself time to break in your new brain parts and heart parts."
Yup this week, well these past 4 months, some definate breaking in of the heart parts of been going on....and as painful as that can be.... I know in the end its all worth it... maybe someday when there is a curly haired bulgarian baby named Pearce-Smith-Keem and Ill know my mission left a mark on the world :)
Love you all!!!
Soeur Smith
Love you all!!!
Soeur Smith
Monday, July 4, 2011
July 4, 2011
Bonjour à tous!
How are you?! Hopefully your enjoying your holiday weekend!!! It is boiling hot here AGAIN and I am craving some lake time... ah well next year next year lol. Just to get in the spirit of things Soeur Pearce and I may or may not look like an obnoxious American Flag! She is wearing red, Im wearing blue and together we scream AMERICAN... good. Tonight we have a mangez vous with some American members so we are hoping they appreciate it even if it means we have to get the stink eye from all the french people today :)
Well every week I feel like I start my email with the feeling of 'oh nothing exciting happened this week' and then by the time Im done with my email Im like 'woah its been a crazy week' haha. This week pretty much follows that pattern. We started of this week feeling like Lou was ready to set a baptisimal date. So when we brought it up with her she said...'let me call my mom' and we both got terrified looks on our faces as she called her mom at work and asked if she could get baptized. Her mom said sure, but call your aunt first! Well the aunt didn't answer... so we are still waiting to actually set a date with her...but she came to church for the second time this week and has made a friend in young womens so hopefully she is serious about wanting to get baptized this time! And hopefully it works out for this summer... we will see. Mostly I love seeing that she wants to have good friends at church and that she really does love us missionaries. Last week at church she took my planner and scheaduled herself into our days...and this week we had a tender moment of sitting and talking for like 20 min. This is a miracle a. because it was in french and b. she like sat for 20 min straight hahah... bless her hyper heart. I really do love this girl and want her to know how special she is! We are working on it...
As President Staheli advised in the last Zone Conferance 'there is nothing more exciting than a blank planner, because then the Lord can direct things' well this week the Lord had a lot of time to direct. Tried as we did to fill up our time...we also got stuck in situations like when we found out AFTER we arrived at the home of a less active that she is in the hospital, and so we just shrugged our shoulders and went contacting down the street from Moulin Rouge... good. Or when we spent lots and lots of time practicing for the missionary concert this week!!! Some of elders want to get a concert series going here in Paris, where people perform classical music (perferably about Christ) and we can have another way of inviting people into our church where we can trap them and convince them they want eternal life! Jk...but lets be real thats what missionaries motivation behind everything is. So for this concert a majority of the performances were by missionaries... including my Soeur Pearce! And despite just getting over a sore throat and extreme stage fright, she sang and was so great! And although our numbers were few there are now a couple people meeting with the missionaries from the that concert...so hopefully with time this project can really turn into something cool!
I think the most exciting part of the week was meeting our new mission president and his wife!!! President and Soeur Poznanski are truly going to do great things directing this mission! He is the first french mission president of the Paris mission...and I think its going to be helpful having a frenchman directing us how to get into the homes of the french people! We had interviews with the President and his wife...and before all of our meetings were in english they now want everything to be in french! So our interviews, training, and even our distrect meetings are now going to be in french! Which I think is going to be helpful but difficult at first! Good news: I survived an interview for french... ok fine it was only for 5 minutes and he talked really slow for me...but I survived! He did switch into english however to tell me I need to be like a 'vampire and suck all the knowledge out of Soeur Pearce while I have her' haha... Im trying to take that to heart. Their trainings were great and Im so excited for the things to come here in the mission! With that we also had a mission merge! Our mission took in some of the french part of the Geneva mission and the country of Luxumbourg... so we now have 3 countries in our mission! So much change in one little week...
Now for the big finalé of the week...we set a baptismal date with someone! So this guy is named is Zdrafko. Let me describe him for you. He is from Bulgaria and speaks better franglais than anyone Ive ever met. Yup... we understand each other great...oh wait except that I don't know any Bulgarian! His curly hair stands about six inches from his head. His mom has been coming to english classes for about a year and is a member. She knows Soeur Pearce. The first time Zdrafko came to church she introduced him to Soeur Pearce and said 'here is my son... make love and conversation' Yup... apparently she doesn't quite understand the role of sister missionaries. Anyways we didnt think much of him other than it was a funny story until he showed up at church a couple weeks ago. We talked to him just after church to see if he is actually interested in the church and he gave us this long complicated reason of why he is not ready for the church... after he has a better job and has moved to Canada and has a family... then he will be ready for the church. We tried to explain, but the gospel can help you now with all of those things! Well this week he showed up at church and asked if he could ask us a question (Im not going to lie in my head I was thinking oh no he is going to propose to Soeur Pearce) Well then he said 'Ive been thinking about that question you've asked me... and I would like to get baptized... this month' Yup you can imagine our shock. Well we talked to him after church and his intentions really are good... he doesnt care if the sisters or the elders teach him (aka marriage proposal not a motivation) and he doesnt want his mom to know he's meeting with the missionaries ( so he's not being pressured into it) but he wants to get baptized because as he puts it 'Je build ma future famille à God" aka I want to build my future family towards God... cute I know. So the elders don't have time to meet with him and we have a member willing to meet with us with him... So we now have a baptisimal date. Zdrafko from Bulgaria... yes Im still working on how to say his name.
Well that pretty much somes it up. Other than that we are just living by the wise words of Mikey...the homeless man that comes to all the church meetings (Soeur Pearce pawned off her Philipinio desert on him... I think I wrote home about that) Well when leaving the church one night Mikey yelled 'Hey be careful... your too pretty to get raped' Good... we will take that into consideration when planning where to go contacting, grace à Mikey. I love you all and I hope your having a good 4th of July!!
Soeur Smith
How are you?! Hopefully your enjoying your holiday weekend!!! It is boiling hot here AGAIN and I am craving some lake time... ah well next year next year lol. Just to get in the spirit of things Soeur Pearce and I may or may not look like an obnoxious American Flag! She is wearing red, Im wearing blue and together we scream AMERICAN... good. Tonight we have a mangez vous with some American members so we are hoping they appreciate it even if it means we have to get the stink eye from all the french people today :)
Well every week I feel like I start my email with the feeling of 'oh nothing exciting happened this week' and then by the time Im done with my email Im like 'woah its been a crazy week' haha. This week pretty much follows that pattern. We started of this week feeling like Lou was ready to set a baptisimal date. So when we brought it up with her she said...'let me call my mom' and we both got terrified looks on our faces as she called her mom at work and asked if she could get baptized. Her mom said sure, but call your aunt first! Well the aunt didn't answer... so we are still waiting to actually set a date with her...but she came to church for the second time this week and has made a friend in young womens so hopefully she is serious about wanting to get baptized this time! And hopefully it works out for this summer... we will see. Mostly I love seeing that she wants to have good friends at church and that she really does love us missionaries. Last week at church she took my planner and scheaduled herself into our days...and this week we had a tender moment of sitting and talking for like 20 min. This is a miracle a. because it was in french and b. she like sat for 20 min straight hahah... bless her hyper heart. I really do love this girl and want her to know how special she is! We are working on it...
As President Staheli advised in the last Zone Conferance 'there is nothing more exciting than a blank planner, because then the Lord can direct things' well this week the Lord had a lot of time to direct. Tried as we did to fill up our time...we also got stuck in situations like when we found out AFTER we arrived at the home of a less active that she is in the hospital, and so we just shrugged our shoulders and went contacting down the street from Moulin Rouge... good. Or when we spent lots and lots of time practicing for the missionary concert this week!!! Some of elders want to get a concert series going here in Paris, where people perform classical music (perferably about Christ) and we can have another way of inviting people into our church where we can trap them and convince them they want eternal life! Jk...but lets be real thats what missionaries motivation behind everything is. So for this concert a majority of the performances were by missionaries... including my Soeur Pearce! And despite just getting over a sore throat and extreme stage fright, she sang and was so great! And although our numbers were few there are now a couple people meeting with the missionaries from the that concert...so hopefully with time this project can really turn into something cool!
I think the most exciting part of the week was meeting our new mission president and his wife!!! President and Soeur Poznanski are truly going to do great things directing this mission! He is the first french mission president of the Paris mission...and I think its going to be helpful having a frenchman directing us how to get into the homes of the french people! We had interviews with the President and his wife...and before all of our meetings were in english they now want everything to be in french! So our interviews, training, and even our distrect meetings are now going to be in french! Which I think is going to be helpful but difficult at first! Good news: I survived an interview for french... ok fine it was only for 5 minutes and he talked really slow for me...but I survived! He did switch into english however to tell me I need to be like a 'vampire and suck all the knowledge out of Soeur Pearce while I have her' haha... Im trying to take that to heart. Their trainings were great and Im so excited for the things to come here in the mission! With that we also had a mission merge! Our mission took in some of the french part of the Geneva mission and the country of Luxumbourg... so we now have 3 countries in our mission! So much change in one little week...
Now for the big finalé of the week...we set a baptismal date with someone! So this guy is named is Zdrafko. Let me describe him for you. He is from Bulgaria and speaks better franglais than anyone Ive ever met. Yup... we understand each other great...oh wait except that I don't know any Bulgarian! His curly hair stands about six inches from his head. His mom has been coming to english classes for about a year and is a member. She knows Soeur Pearce. The first time Zdrafko came to church she introduced him to Soeur Pearce and said 'here is my son... make love and conversation' Yup... apparently she doesn't quite understand the role of sister missionaries. Anyways we didnt think much of him other than it was a funny story until he showed up at church a couple weeks ago. We talked to him just after church to see if he is actually interested in the church and he gave us this long complicated reason of why he is not ready for the church... after he has a better job and has moved to Canada and has a family... then he will be ready for the church. We tried to explain, but the gospel can help you now with all of those things! Well this week he showed up at church and asked if he could ask us a question (Im not going to lie in my head I was thinking oh no he is going to propose to Soeur Pearce) Well then he said 'Ive been thinking about that question you've asked me... and I would like to get baptized... this month' Yup you can imagine our shock. Well we talked to him after church and his intentions really are good... he doesnt care if the sisters or the elders teach him (aka marriage proposal not a motivation) and he doesnt want his mom to know he's meeting with the missionaries ( so he's not being pressured into it) but he wants to get baptized because as he puts it 'Je build ma future famille à God" aka I want to build my future family towards God... cute I know. So the elders don't have time to meet with him and we have a member willing to meet with us with him... So we now have a baptisimal date. Zdrafko from Bulgaria... yes Im still working on how to say his name.
Well that pretty much somes it up. Other than that we are just living by the wise words of Mikey...the homeless man that comes to all the church meetings (Soeur Pearce pawned off her Philipinio desert on him... I think I wrote home about that) Well when leaving the church one night Mikey yelled 'Hey be careful... your too pretty to get raped' Good... we will take that into consideration when planning where to go contacting, grace à Mikey. I love you all and I hope your having a good 4th of July!!
Soeur Smith
Sunday, July 3, 2011
June 27, 2011
Bonjour!
Well I think summer has officially started here in Paris... it is a whopping 96° here today!!!! Im pretty much sweating through my clothes... and the weather helps the metro smell GREAT!!! Im sure you wanted those details....
This week has been a rather dramatic one here in the France Paris Mission. We had our last Zone Conferance with President Staheli... and as of tomorrow we have a new mission president! The Zone Conferance was amazing. President and Sister Staheli left us with some wonderful words of wisdom. Soeur Staheli really focused on being a missionary now, because it is the only time in our lives where that is our only role. When we get home we can focus on all of the other roles/dreams/hopes we have- but now is the time to be 100 percent missionary. President focused on learning to have good judgement and listening to the voice of the spirit vs. the natural man. It truly was so amazing (lm experiencing a lack of a better word-sorry) I hope someday I can even be a tenth of the person they are. I can't imagine what they are feeling leaving the mission... good thing I won't have to for a very long time! Soeur Pearce on the other hand had to deliver her departing/ dying testimony. And as much as she will claim it was a blubbering mess... It was amazing! I feel so blessed to have been 'trained' by her...she's the best and you can tell she is someone who gave her all to the mission!!! I love her!!! Overall the day was emotional...the worst part was singing 'God Be With You Till We Meet Again' as the Staheli's left mid song and drove away for a final time... dramatic I know. You could hear sniffles throughout the crowd.
Soeur Pearce has been fighting a bad cold all week that has left us in the awkward balance of trying to keep all our appointments while also letting her rest. At times it has resulted in an exchange with our roommates....and Im proud to report that I survived a day with Soeur Didier (ya she's the french one...who doesn't know much english) Through caveman french, lots of hand actions, and some nodding and smiling when I really had no clue what she was saying we somehow survived a day in Paris together... yes Im feeling accomplished about that :)
This week I also got to go to Belgium to sign my legality papers. I got to take a train up to Brussles with my entire MTC district and the group older than us...it was so much fun!!! I dont even know how to describe how great it was to see everyone and hear about how they are adjusting and the adventures they have already had here in the mission! I got to see the 'big sites' in Brussles aka Grande Place and Maniquinne Piss (disappointing)... and partake of Goufres (yes the waffles really are better in belgium...Especially when they are covered in nutella and strawberries hmmmmm) But honestly the best part was being reunited with my little MTC family...and Soeur Woodward and her companion got sleep over that night so it was a party in Paris!
And it truly was a party in Paris this week as it is Gay Pride Week .We have seen some very interesting people in the metro... and the elders have felt a little bit more self conscious about walking around in pairs with matching outfits this week. Living in the young, fun part of Paris was not a blessing as there were concerts and parties celebrating... one night we got off the metro and when we arrived home Soeur Pearce just looked at me and said " I think we just walked through Soddom and Gamorah". Call me naive....but the whole thing just left me sad and more determined of how badly the world needs the gospel and aware of how desperate people are to find a place where they belong.
We continued to make some interesting 'friends' this week. We had one referral from the Elders that was a bit of a miracle. Naomi is from Nigeria and just barely moved to Paris so we asked her to meet us at a main metro stop and then we would walk with her to the church. Well she got off at the wrong stop and called us and told us she was waiting at McDonalds. Right...not vague at all. After an hour and a half of calling back and forth and both parties feeling frustrated Soeur Pearce and I were ready to give up. She called us and told us 'It was not God's will that we meet today'. So we started to walk away feeling defeated... when all the sudden I noticed another McDonalds kind of hidden behind some other shops. We called her, and with some quick desperate prayers, by some miracle she saw us and was still willing to meet with us. She walked with us to the church and when we gave her a Book of Mormon in english (she doesn't speak french) she jumped at Soeur Pearce and give her a huge hug! It was adorable. Well then in getting to know her we have some questions about her profession. She refused to tell us exactly what she does but did tell us that her work hours are from 7pm to 2 am... so Ill let your imagination run wild but we are trying to assume the best. We will see how it goes... we are just celebrating in the miracle of finding her!
As well Lou FINALLY came to church!!! We were so excited...the YW president is really excited about fellowshipping her so hopefully church will give her the place of belonging she needs so badly. We are hoping we can meet with her more often since school is out...but also scared that she be will at her Dad's house more often so we won't be able to see her...we will see.
Well this week the 'numbers' were better...but I also have come to the realization (or re-realization) that those don't really matter... as long as we are doing our best the Lord will provide. Like last night... after having some cabin fever from being home with sickly Soeur Pearce , the other Soeurs and I pulled out a matress, ate chocolate ice cream and watched Legacy on Soeur Didier's mini DVD player. Yes... we are a little desperate for chick flicks on the mission....but I was just grateful for the friendship the Lord has provided for me with the other sisters so that even when things get tough... I have someone to laugh about it with...
Love you and miss you!
Soeur Smith
PS Happy Canada Day on Friday!!! Ill try and represent our country well....
Well I think summer has officially started here in Paris... it is a whopping 96° here today!!!! Im pretty much sweating through my clothes... and the weather helps the metro smell GREAT!!! Im sure you wanted those details....
This week has been a rather dramatic one here in the France Paris Mission. We had our last Zone Conferance with President Staheli... and as of tomorrow we have a new mission president! The Zone Conferance was amazing. President and Sister Staheli left us with some wonderful words of wisdom. Soeur Staheli really focused on being a missionary now, because it is the only time in our lives where that is our only role. When we get home we can focus on all of the other roles/dreams/hopes we have- but now is the time to be 100 percent missionary. President focused on learning to have good judgement and listening to the voice of the spirit vs. the natural man. It truly was so amazing (lm experiencing a lack of a better word-sorry) I hope someday I can even be a tenth of the person they are. I can't imagine what they are feeling leaving the mission... good thing I won't have to for a very long time! Soeur Pearce on the other hand had to deliver her departing/ dying testimony. And as much as she will claim it was a blubbering mess... It was amazing! I feel so blessed to have been 'trained' by her...she's the best and you can tell she is someone who gave her all to the mission!!! I love her!!! Overall the day was emotional...the worst part was singing 'God Be With You Till We Meet Again' as the Staheli's left mid song and drove away for a final time... dramatic I know. You could hear sniffles throughout the crowd.
Soeur Pearce has been fighting a bad cold all week that has left us in the awkward balance of trying to keep all our appointments while also letting her rest. At times it has resulted in an exchange with our roommates....and Im proud to report that I survived a day with Soeur Didier (ya she's the french one...who doesn't know much english) Through caveman french, lots of hand actions, and some nodding and smiling when I really had no clue what she was saying we somehow survived a day in Paris together... yes Im feeling accomplished about that :)
This week I also got to go to Belgium to sign my legality papers. I got to take a train up to Brussles with my entire MTC district and the group older than us...it was so much fun!!! I dont even know how to describe how great it was to see everyone and hear about how they are adjusting and the adventures they have already had here in the mission! I got to see the 'big sites' in Brussles aka Grande Place and Maniquinne Piss (disappointing)... and partake of Goufres (yes the waffles really are better in belgium...Especially when they are covered in nutella and strawberries hmmmmm) But honestly the best part was being reunited with my little MTC family...and Soeur Woodward and her companion got sleep over that night so it was a party in Paris!
And it truly was a party in Paris this week as it is Gay Pride Week .We have seen some very interesting people in the metro... and the elders have felt a little bit more self conscious about walking around in pairs with matching outfits this week. Living in the young, fun part of Paris was not a blessing as there were concerts and parties celebrating... one night we got off the metro and when we arrived home Soeur Pearce just looked at me and said " I think we just walked through Soddom and Gamorah". Call me naive....but the whole thing just left me sad and more determined of how badly the world needs the gospel and aware of how desperate people are to find a place where they belong.
We continued to make some interesting 'friends' this week. We had one referral from the Elders that was a bit of a miracle. Naomi is from Nigeria and just barely moved to Paris so we asked her to meet us at a main metro stop and then we would walk with her to the church. Well she got off at the wrong stop and called us and told us she was waiting at McDonalds. Right...not vague at all. After an hour and a half of calling back and forth and both parties feeling frustrated Soeur Pearce and I were ready to give up. She called us and told us 'It was not God's will that we meet today'. So we started to walk away feeling defeated... when all the sudden I noticed another McDonalds kind of hidden behind some other shops. We called her, and with some quick desperate prayers, by some miracle she saw us and was still willing to meet with us. She walked with us to the church and when we gave her a Book of Mormon in english (she doesn't speak french) she jumped at Soeur Pearce and give her a huge hug! It was adorable. Well then in getting to know her we have some questions about her profession. She refused to tell us exactly what she does but did tell us that her work hours are from 7pm to 2 am... so Ill let your imagination run wild but we are trying to assume the best. We will see how it goes... we are just celebrating in the miracle of finding her!
As well Lou FINALLY came to church!!! We were so excited...the YW president is really excited about fellowshipping her so hopefully church will give her the place of belonging she needs so badly. We are hoping we can meet with her more often since school is out...but also scared that she be will at her Dad's house more often so we won't be able to see her...we will see.
Well this week the 'numbers' were better...but I also have come to the realization (or re-realization) that those don't really matter... as long as we are doing our best the Lord will provide. Like last night... after having some cabin fever from being home with sickly Soeur Pearce , the other Soeurs and I pulled out a matress, ate chocolate ice cream and watched Legacy on Soeur Didier's mini DVD player. Yes... we are a little desperate for chick flicks on the mission....but I was just grateful for the friendship the Lord has provided for me with the other sisters so that even when things get tough... I have someone to laugh about it with...
Love you and miss you!
Soeur Smith
PS Happy Canada Day on Friday!!! Ill try and represent our country well....
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