March 12, 2012 "Tender Mercies"

Bonjour!

I remember once someone telling me in the MTC that as a missionary, the days feel like weeks, the weeks feel like months, and the months feel like years. It seems like every week I sit down and so much as happened and last Monday feels like years ago. And at the same time it feels like this week has flown by. Time is such a curious thing....

This week we had a lot of tender mercies. Wednesday was a special day for us. Special as in it might have included some ranting and frustrations about missionary life. But then we had a lunch appointment with a less active. Her name is Soeur Davies and she just showed up at church a couple weeks ago and I asked her if we could come visit her. Well we showed up to her house, and there on her mantel place were her and her husbands' missionary tags and pictures from their missions. Turns out she has the most amazing story. She is from Pakistan originally. And they met the church through missionaries! (yes Chris your dream of one day serving in Pakistan can come true....) Anyways, missionaries there aren't allowed to proslyte...they cant even wear matching white shirts or tags, because Christians are so heavily targeted and persecuted. So the missionaries have to work through members. Well her aunt had somehow met the missionaries and then invited Soeur Davies' family over. Her whole family was converted- and eventually she served a mission in Singapore. Her husband is Belge and served his mission somewhere near Pakistan and went back to visit his mission and then did some travelling when they met. I don't know the reasons why she  doesn't come to church- but she said she and her husband still study the scriptures together every day. And you could just feel the spirit in her home. Strange though- she spends years being persecuted for being Christian, she has had family members killed for being Christian, and she comes to Belgium and doesn't come to church. Anyways- it was just a tender afternoon. We looked through her photo albums from her mission and listened to her stories, and I know she has a testimony. It was just a reminder to me of what a priviledge it is to serve a mission and how short our time really is.

So Soeur Cope and I did some repenting and decided we were going to do some porting right then and there. Well naturally it starts storming, the rain is coming down and the first door we knock on...lets us in!!!!!! It was girl in her 20's who told us 'ya actually this really interests me!" We told her we would bring her back a Book of Mormon (because naturally I only had english with me because we were supposed to teach an english rendezvous that day) but she was really cool and we are so excited....and she definately lives in our area...which is a plus.

We also went to the bible class with the guy that we ported into a couple weeks ago, Bruno. We brought elders with us...because turns out he lives in the other area as well. But the night was great. Here was this well-off Belge man with a bunch of his friends...and as we studies the bible together, each person took turns to bear thier testimony of Christ and the role He has had in their lives. It was just refreshing to see that there are people out there who not only believe in Christ, but He plays a significant role in thier life. We all walked away feeling very uplifted....and I just know if Bruno will read the Book of Mormon he will just get it! We'll keep praying for him.

And just an update on Peter- we heard from the elders that he has now read the entire Book of Mormon and noticed that in the footnotes it talks about something called the Doctrine and Covenants and he would like to read that book too. We are just so excited he READ THE BOOK OF MORMON!

Wierd how once in a while people are interested in a new book of scripture, people want to talk about Christ, and someone wants to learn more. Tender, tender mercies.

Bonne Semaine!
Soeur Smith

March 5, 2012 "Sometimes birthday cards make all the difference"

Bonjour Bonjour!

 

Well its been another great week in Brussels....we even saw the sun for a couple days. But now it is currently snowing...so apparently the singing birds were just giving me false hopes of spring...ah well...guess I'll need to be transfered south to ever see the sun again.

 

This week has been full of lots of finding. Missionary work just seems to go through cycles. You find lots of people, teach, only one or none of them progress; so its back to finding. Soeur Cope and I had a nice companionship unity moment this week. We did our personal study in the morning- and I had this super awsome study about the importance of the Book of Mormon and was feeling like we needed to focus our finding on introducing people to the Book of Mormon (you may be thinking...well what else do missionaries do? But you can approach people with lots of stuff...eternal families, modern day prophet, God is your Heavenly Father...etc.) ANYWAYS turns out Soeur Cope had had the exact same prompting...so in other words revelation is real! We have yet to find the person who is just waiting for the Book of Mormon...but it will come I know it. So the knocking doors continues....

 

We had zone conferance in Paris this is week. It was great...you know spiritual, inspiring, uplifting, etc etc...however...it also made me realize something. IM OLD. Ok...not literally...well maybe literally but I'll have that freak out when I get home from my mission and all my roommates are freshmen. But Im old in the mission...I don't know anyone! I remember Soeur Pearce telling me you don't know anyone at the beginning of your mission, you know everyone in the middle, and you know no one at the end. I think I'm moving into the knowing no one phase. Its slightly freaky...ah well...its just a strange feeling to be considered one of the old missionaries when you still feel like you have so much to learn and do!

 

So our ami Peter! The one we found on the metro last week. We had an awsome rendezvous with him! He told us that ever since he has met us that he has been praying for us- particularly that we will find good husbands that will have faith like us haha. (For Soeur Cope who is headed home soon this is a much appreciated prayer :) ) His family is amazing. His wife watched a church film and loved it, and the end of the rendezvous they wanted to come to church. BUT they live in the other ward's bounderies. So we had to pass them over to elders in the other ward. It was pretty sad. But they came to church yesterday and the elders told us that Peter was taking notes and asking lots of great questions...so maybe at least we will be able to attend the baptism? We are all in the same boat anyways right? Right. (aka its the elders turn to find us a super legit family! Jk Jk...kinda)

 

We had a tender moment with a less-active this week. It was her birthday so we stopped by with a card and some cookies. Its been sad for me to work with this women, because when I first got to Brussels she was coming to church pretty regularly...but she has been coming less and less and recently she told she is done with God and that he doesn't care about her. But we keep visiting her...and on her birthday she told us she didn't have the words to tell us how grateful she was that we had kept visiting her, and that it just means alot to her. It was just one of those tender moments where the Lord lets me feel like all the passbys, notes, cards, and lessons with people do make a little difference.

 

So voilà quoi....another great week!

Love you all!

Soeur Smith