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....
Monday, June 20, 2011
June 20, 2011
Bonjour!!!
Well... apparently the adversary thought I was a little too perky in my email last week because this week ended up to be a bit more of a challenge. Soeur Pearce and I realized that after Anne Sophie was baptized we were moving into the 'finding' part of missionary work...so as we started off the week we were quite excited because we had alot of potential new amies and appointments set up. I was so excited to find that 'one' that is the reason I came on a mission...or have some miracle stories to share....
Especially since this week in our District Meeting our Zone Leaders did some training with us. They prayed about it and decided that this transfer our zone really needs to work on talking to people. They talked about how really finding people, and contacting people, is just like making friends. It doesn't need to be wierd and awkward (ok lets be honest its still pretty wierd and awkward) but we can make it less so by approaching it with 'friendship' in mind...because once your friends with the person your talking to on the metro...isn't natural to want to then move onto the most important and wonderful thing in life..the gospel!? They talked about how we were all called to serve here in Paris, at this time in this transfer to find our 'friend'. We may not be here to convert the entire city...but there is our one 'friend' waiting to hear specifically from each one of us. So after being all pumped and ready to go Soeur Pearce and I headed into the roughest week so far...
I won't give you numbers but we will just say that we ended up getting ditched or cancelled on more times than we actually met with anyone...promising phone numbers called back and said they weren't interested...even recent converts decided they didnt need this missionaries this week. On top of this...the 'friends' we were making ended up usually being a little ...adventerous? Like the time a guy approached us while we were voluntering at the Croix-Rouge (Red Cross) and told us he wants to repent of his sins and come to church. We took down his number and had the elders call him. Well apparently he has QUITE some sins to repent of because when they met up with him he was in the middle of drug bust and apparently didn't currently have the time to meet with them. Or wait...there was the Christian from Egypt that we passed to the elders...but he doesn't want to meet with the elders...rather he would like to "meet with JUST Soeur Pearce, drink a Cola and talk about Joseph Smith"...sorry but that sounds like a date to me. Ah and there was the one guy we contacted on the metro a few weeks ago who turned out to be Muslim so we just invited him to English classes. Well he's been coming for a couple weeks now and this week we read the Family Proc with our class for pronunciation practice...afterwards I asked if anyone had any questions and he raised his hand and asked if I was married...I tried to quickly explain that as missionaries we arent married but we can get married after our missions (there is a common misconception here that we are nuns) and then changed the subject. Well then after class he came up to me and said "Soeur Smith may I ask another question" I was like uh sure...and ready for this? He said "I was wondering if we could arrange a marriage after your mission?" Well it took me all of about .000000002 of a second to say No! haha So don't worry mom even I do become an old unmarryable RM I still have some options open. But honestly... I really would like to know if that marriage proposal as ever worked for anyone??? Oh and ready for my favorite 'friend' of the week? This guy was sitting across from us in the metro totally 'plaqueing' us aka reading our nametags with a curious look on his face...when he leaned over and asked 'when are the dernier jours' (latter days)...so Soeur Pearce tried to explain...but this guy was not interested...he grabbed her arm and started literally yelling at us about authority and how Christ's authority was lost on the earth after the apostles died (uh duh...if only he would actually listen to us...) anyways...obviously we were not ok with him grabbing onto Soeur Pearce so we decided to get off the metro right then and he yelled after us and called us 'les filles du diable'....yup we are daughters of the devil. GOOD...apparently we need to work on our friend making skills.
Alright Im done being pesimistic. We, as always, actually did have a good week...or at least one full of laughter. Lou continues to do well...she is not neccessarily progressing through the lessons quickly but I really think we have earned her trust and love as she asked us if we would meet with her for 2 hours in a row, didn't want us to leave at the end of her lesson, and READ HER SCRIPTURES on her own this week :) Anne Sophie also continues to just change and grow! Soeur Pearce and I were talking about how amazing it is to see people change with the gospel and just want to be better. Anne Sophie told us how she now finds herself looking for ways to serve people like give up her seat on the metro and help her roommates. This week she made us brownies! Its just cute to see that as people come closer to Christ they really do search for little ways to serve, the brownies don't really matter to us or mean much, if only she knew that honestly the greatest thing she could do for us is just go to church, but just the fact that she wants to do something for us just speaks volumes. We also had a suprise investigator come to church. We have been calling this lady for weeks...one of the elders contacted her during district finding my first week here...and she has been avoiding our calls. Well she called us at 11pm on Sat. and told us she was coming to church. Well she came and she loved it! At the end of the sacrament meeting I asked if she had any questions and she said her only question is 'if she could come back next week'. I love her already! Please pray that she is ready for the gospel because she definately has a strong catholic background that could be challenging. Also I feel like our missionary Sunday did wonders with the ward because people are really more willing to talk to people and have friends in mind and more willing to work with us..its been great.
This week we also had an adventurous mangez-vous. It was with Lou's grandmother. On our way there Soeur Pearce and I had this exact conversation
Well... apparently the adversary thought I was a little too perky in my email last week because this week ended up to be a bit more of a challenge. Soeur Pearce and I realized that after Anne Sophie was baptized we were moving into the 'finding' part of missionary work...so as we started off the week we were quite excited because we had alot of potential new amies and appointments set up. I was so excited to find that 'one' that is the reason I came on a mission...or have some miracle stories to share....
Especially since this week in our District Meeting our Zone Leaders did some training with us. They prayed about it and decided that this transfer our zone really needs to work on talking to people. They talked about how really finding people, and contacting people, is just like making friends. It doesn't need to be wierd and awkward (ok lets be honest its still pretty wierd and awkward) but we can make it less so by approaching it with 'friendship' in mind...because once your friends with the person your talking to on the metro...isn't natural to want to then move onto the most important and wonderful thing in life..the gospel!? They talked about how we were all called to serve here in Paris, at this time in this transfer to find our 'friend'. We may not be here to convert the entire city...but there is our one 'friend' waiting to hear specifically from each one of us. So after being all pumped and ready to go Soeur Pearce and I headed into the roughest week so far...
I won't give you numbers but we will just say that we ended up getting ditched or cancelled on more times than we actually met with anyone...promising phone numbers called back and said they weren't interested...even recent converts decided they didnt need this missionaries this week. On top of this...the 'friends' we were making ended up usually being a little ...adventerous? Like the time a guy approached us while we were voluntering at the Croix-Rouge (Red Cross) and told us he wants to repent of his sins and come to church. We took down his number and had the elders call him. Well apparently he has QUITE some sins to repent of because when they met up with him he was in the middle of drug bust and apparently didn't currently have the time to meet with them. Or wait...there was the Christian from Egypt that we passed to the elders...but he doesn't want to meet with the elders...rather he would like to "meet with JUST Soeur Pearce, drink a Cola and talk about Joseph Smith"...sorry but that sounds like a date to me. Ah and there was the one guy we contacted on the metro a few weeks ago who turned out to be Muslim so we just invited him to English classes. Well he's been coming for a couple weeks now and this week we read the Family Proc with our class for pronunciation practice...afterwards I asked if anyone had any questions and he raised his hand and asked if I was married...I tried to quickly explain that as missionaries we arent married but we can get married after our missions (there is a common misconception here that we are nuns) and then changed the subject. Well then after class he came up to me and said "Soeur Smith may I ask another question" I was like uh sure...and ready for this? He said "I was wondering if we could arrange a marriage after your mission?" Well it took me all of about .000000002 of a second to say No! haha So don't worry mom even I do become an old unmarryable RM I still have some options open. But honestly... I really would like to know if that marriage proposal as ever worked for anyone??? Oh and ready for my favorite 'friend' of the week? This guy was sitting across from us in the metro totally 'plaqueing' us aka reading our nametags with a curious look on his face...when he leaned over and asked 'when are the dernier jours' (latter days)...so Soeur Pearce tried to explain...but this guy was not interested...he grabbed her arm and started literally yelling at us about authority and how Christ's authority was lost on the earth after the apostles died (uh duh...if only he would actually listen to us...) anyways...obviously we were not ok with him grabbing onto Soeur Pearce so we decided to get off the metro right then and he yelled after us and called us 'les filles du diable'....yup we are daughters of the devil. GOOD...apparently we need to work on our friend making skills.
Alright Im done being pesimistic. We, as always, actually did have a good week...or at least one full of laughter. Lou continues to do well...she is not neccessarily progressing through the lessons quickly but I really think we have earned her trust and love as she asked us if we would meet with her for 2 hours in a row, didn't want us to leave at the end of her lesson, and READ HER SCRIPTURES on her own this week :) Anne Sophie also continues to just change and grow! Soeur Pearce and I were talking about how amazing it is to see people change with the gospel and just want to be better. Anne Sophie told us how she now finds herself looking for ways to serve people like give up her seat on the metro and help her roommates. This week she made us brownies! Its just cute to see that as people come closer to Christ they really do search for little ways to serve, the brownies don't really matter to us or mean much, if only she knew that honestly the greatest thing she could do for us is just go to church, but just the fact that she wants to do something for us just speaks volumes. We also had a suprise investigator come to church. We have been calling this lady for weeks...one of the elders contacted her during district finding my first week here...and she has been avoiding our calls. Well she called us at 11pm on Sat. and told us she was coming to church. Well she came and she loved it! At the end of the sacrament meeting I asked if she had any questions and she said her only question is 'if she could come back next week'. I love her already! Please pray that she is ready for the gospel because she definately has a strong catholic background that could be challenging. Also I feel like our missionary Sunday did wonders with the ward because people are really more willing to talk to people and have friends in mind and more willing to work with us..its been great.
This week we also had an adventurous mangez-vous. It was with Lou's grandmother. On our way there Soeur Pearce and I had this exact conversation
SS "I think as a companionship we should have a goal to make this mangez vous as short as possible" (it had been a long day)
SP "Alright...who is going to pretend to be sick?"
SS " you know what we need"
SP "Puking Pastles"
Yes its true...we are kindred spirits...she just read my mind and automatically knew I was reffering to Harry PotterSP "Puking Pastles"
Anyways...when we got there we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. The first course came out. Don't ask me what it was...the only word I understood was fish and I had no desire to ask questions beyond that. The next course...which we thought was the main course was a quiche...it was decent-no complaints. Oops till the actual main dish came....in which Lou's grandmother literally put a 3 inch high MOUNTAIN of rice on my plate with a mystery meat sauce. I thought I was going to puke just looking at how much food there was on my plate. Soeur Pearce got out of it by saying 'oh im not actually that hungry' . After I about I had half way finished my plate and everyone else was finished... the host told me I didn't need to finish. Phew...I was exhausted. Then came desert. Another quiche? With eggs...and coconut? Im sure somewhere in the world that recipe can go right...but not here. And since I hadn't finished my dinner she gave me a small piece...while poor Soeur Pearce got to make up the difference. haha...I think Im still digesting that food haha....
We also have matching freak outs. This week because of our disappointing turn of events we both had our moments to freak out and wonder what the heck we were doing wrong and why people aren't flocking to font! Soeur Pearce had to remind me that it is irrational to expect yourself to be the 'perfect missionary' and I had to remind her that sometimes appointments just fall through, not because we are horrible missionaries, but because that is part of finding those who are ready. Well it reminded me of this talk by Elder Holland that he gave in the MTC awhile ago...He said
We also have matching freak outs. This week because of our disappointing turn of events we both had our moments to freak out and wonder what the heck we were doing wrong and why people aren't flocking to font! Soeur Pearce had to remind me that it is irrational to expect yourself to be the 'perfect missionary' and I had to remind her that sometimes appointments just fall through, not because we are horrible missionaries, but because that is part of finding those who are ready. Well it reminded me of this talk by Elder Holland that he gave in the MTC awhile ago...He said
"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?
You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.
Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.
For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.
If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.
The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
Sorry that was a giant quote. But I think it sums up our week...it wasn't really THAT bad of a week- you are probably thinking we are pretty whiney for complaining about getting ditched a few times...but it was enough to make us question our missionary abilities and wonder what we can do better. So Elder Holland...consider my heart-pricked...and of course there always things we can change and work on, but if this little price is the price I need to pay to 'stand with the best life this world has ever known' then I will gladly do it. And maybe in the process we can learn to pick our friends better....
Love you and miss you all!
Soeur Smith
Monday, June 13, 2011
June 13, 2011
Bonjour Family!!!
Soeur Pearce " ya...except I think that is where we saw that one guy exercising and it doesnt look that great"....
(we were trying to think of a good picnic spot haha)
So, just when I start to feel like I kind of understand the metro system or right when I know how to finally order food at boulongeries/bakeries (follow my companion and just say 'le meme chose' or 'the same thing' haha)... and just when Im starting to notice oh ya I do live in a giant city that sometimes smells bad and can get crowded with 10 million people... well then I start my second transfer here in Paris and become all enchanted with the city all over again!!! This week just made me realize all over again how grateful/lucky I am to a. be serving a mission and b. serving in Paris! This week transfers actually happened and we had several new changes. We lost most of the francophone elders from our district...but continue to keep things international with a British elder. We lost all of the chinese speaking elders (although they are still serving in our ward so we see them lots), but now all of the sudden our district feels very small. We also got a new roommate...and she speaks basically no english!!! Which is really good for me haha...although it keeps me constitantly humble with reminders of how little french I know. But we have been taking turns reading scriptures to each other to work on our accents haha...maybe someday we will actually see results from our efforts haha. Some things still stay the same.... such Soeur Pearce and I. We were talking with one elder and he was saying that week 4 is when the honeymoon stage always wears off for him and he starts to have problems with companions. Soeur Pearce and I have decided that we are still in the honeymoon stage our companionship haha... we've gotten to know each other pretty well and we will just say that President was inspired in putting us together. We are pretty much always on the same brainwave and have given up on speaking in complete sentances anymore.... an example of one of our conversations...
Soeur Pearce "what do you want to do tomorrow?"
Soeur Smith "I was thinking we could go to that one place that one person told us about"Soeur Pearce " ya...except I think that is where we saw that one guy exercising and it doesnt look that great"....
(we were trying to think of a good picnic spot haha)
Did anyone else catch how ambigious that conversation was??? We didnt even realize how funny we sounded till our roommate looked over at us and told us we were ridiculous haha...Anyways its making our second transfer together start off great because planning is easy...we just say a couple words and both of us know what the other one means...it also means that when one of the other says something blonde we never have explain ourselves to other....so our honeymoon stage is still going great!!!
And so is the work in Paris!! We are working with several people and have alot of potentials (so please keep those prayers coming). We recently found this single mom and her daughter in our area book who met with the missionaries and then became pretty flakey and weren't showing that much interest but when we called said we could totally come back. Well her daughter is adorable! And she is only five so Im sure she doesn't even remember the last time the missionaries came over...the mom is very catholic and we are not sure if she ready to make changes but we are hoping if we could get the little girl to primary she would start to see how church could benefit their family. We had a breakthrough with Lou this week...she has been making up excuses every Sunday for not coming to church...but this week she really opened up to us and we have a little better understanding of where is coming from. Basically it sounds like she has alot of pressure in her life to grow up and start taking care of herself...but she is only 11 and honestly just wants to be treated like a kid. Her grandma has been the one forcing the church on her and its just one more thing she is feeling pressure about (and we probably didn't help with trying to stress baptism) but she is also seeking for love and acceptance...which we all know is hard to find in the world today. As a result she acts out and is also always trying to be 'cool' for her friends. Well this week we tried to testify and stress how important church is and how the church can be a family that will never judge her and will always except her. Well come Sunday she did not come to church...but I think she is at least more open to the idea and seems to sincerely be interested in what we are saying rather than acting like 'deamon child' because meeting with us is something her grandma forced. So we will see. We also have been meeting with a member in our ward who we weren't exactly sure why we were meeting with...she isnt a recent convert or anything but the bishop asked us to teach her the lessons over again. Turns out she knows basically nothing!!! She didnt know we had a prophet, has never prayed about the Book of Mormon, and wasnt exactly sure why we called ourselves the one true church. Yes, we were also quite confused how she passed her baptisimal interview. But thats not important, the important thing is we are working with her to answer some questions. What amazes me is that she is still very active in the ward and obviously feels some sort of testimony despite all the holes in her knowledge. Its kind of a hard dilema trying to decide how much knowledge someone needs to be baptized, because obviously they can't know it all, and where to draw the line. Oh well... we are glad she didn't fall through the cracks and she is still active! We also had a cool experience with a 'couple' of rreferrals that we recieved. We recieved two refferals both named Marie, one came from Salt Lake City and one came from a missionary that went home a couple of transfers ago. Well we have been calling both Maries and struggling to get in contact with them. One finally agreed to come to church on Sunday and the great news for me is that she is American so I can talk with her! I got to talk with her for a little bit, and let me just put it this way, the gospel is going to help her so much!!! The great thing is her daughter is a member already (but in the states) so she has a really good impression of the church and I just know she is so ready for the gospel. Well later that day we were transferring our stuff from our old planners to our new ones and guess what (Im not sure how we didn't figure this out before) but they are the same Marie!!! So now we know...the Lord does not want her falling through the cracks!!! We are really excited for how we think the gospel could truly transform her life so I'll keep you posted. Anne Sophie is great as usual. We've decided to have her teach us the lessons this time around since she knew everything when we were teaching her the first time; and she is great! She bore a really sweet and powerful testimony to us the other night about how although she was not a bad person before she can just see the difference in herself from the gospel, and it was just so great because I know we have seen so much change in her and it was just so powerful to hear her testimony! We love her and Im so grateful I've gotten to know her!
This Sunday was really powerful. Three times a year we have a sacrament meeting dedicated to missionary work and this week was one of them. The Chinese twins that got baptized about a month ago bore their testimony and its was so beautiful! Of course I had to hear it translated from Chinese to French...but they are just so sweet and I just love them so much!! And then all 12 of us missionaries sang Called To Serve. We sang the first verse in English, then sang it again in Chinese, and then finished with it in French! The fun part is one elder was on the piano and did a really fun arrangement that Im not exactly sure was Sacrament meeting appropriate...but hey it got everyone really pumped on missionary work! haha We felt like quite the stars...everyone kept telling us how much they loved and it really reminded me of our special calling we have right now. That members really do look to us as different and as examples...made me wear my badge with just a little more pride (the good kind of pride though I promise ;) ) Soeur Pearce and I were also asked to go in an speak with the young women about being missionaries and I loved it...the young women are such amazing examples of living the gospel in difficult circumstances...I just felt like I was glowing from their presence! Anyways... I felt all repumped with missionary spirit and ready to make this transfer great!
Let's see other adventures we've had this week. I got to feel like a 'vrai missionnaire' this week as it rained during our district contacting activity...we sang hymns on a street corner and by the time we got home I think I resembled a drowned rat...the squishing in my shoes made me feel like a true missionary haha. We also got to visit my favorite part of the city, the 18th, and got into a 'discussion' with the TJ's ( Jehovahs Wittness). They stopped us and were like 'dont you ever wonder why we dedicate our lives and go out to share our message? Don't you think God is behind us?' I kinda wanted to say...no I've never wondered that...obviously I think God is with us haha...just kidding I know those are fighting words... I just thought it was ironic that he would ask missionaries from another church that question. He also asked us 'do people ever mistake you for us?' The snarky side of Soeur Pearce came out when she said afterwards ' I wanted to respond, ya thanks alot! because of you no one wants to talk to us!' haha...they really were generally nice...just ironic haha. We also got to see a preacher yelling in the streets...made me grateful that we generally don't use that type of contacting anymore haha. We also experienced an almost miracle! haha We got a referral from Salt Lake a few weeks ago and every time we've gone over to drop off a Book of Mormon we have had to stand outside the apartment building till someone goes in or out because we don't have the code. As we were walking to it this time we passed this little old lady who looked like a puff of wind could blow her over...and Soeur Pearce was like 'How heavy do you think her cart is?' (she was pushing a little grocery cart) I said I think its empty (in my defense it really did look empty!) So we kept walking. We kept walking till we got to the apartment building and then started to wait. After about 10 minutes I said a little prayer to myself that someone would show up...and all of the sudden guess who comes around the corner (well I guess it wasn't very sudden) but that same little old lady came bumbling up to us and asked us to punch in the code for her because her hands were shaking. So MIRACLE we know have the code for the apartment building...ALMOST MIRACLE we totally felt ashamed that we hadn't stopped to help her since it turns out she was going to help us in the end! As a result when we were walking back to the metro we passed another old lady and both of us about jump at the chance to help her with her groceries but when we offered she answered back in a very capable voice 'don't worry I've got it '...as we walked away Soeur Pearce just looked at me and said 'well she was a little more spry!' hahah Moral of the story...offer to help people even if you think they wont neccessarily need it...the worst they can say is no! But you could be turning down the chance for a miracle!
Well that pretty much sums up the week. This week we for P Day we went to the Louvre! Thanks to Soeur Pearce's Rick Steves book we were only in there for about 2 hours and saw the most essential things. I loved it though! One of the coolest parts was the building its self...we barely even touched everything in there I can't get over how huge it is! We also relived my Israel days and got Fallafal in the Jewish quarter of Paris (not going to lie...the Israeli ones were better...) but it was a cultural experience nevertheless! Honestly my favorite part of this week came right after we had an uplifting mangez-vous with a member and it was raining outside and Soeur Pearce and I were walking down this adorable little french street (the building had flowers and balconies...you know...the whole french works) and all the sudden I knew I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but walking in the rain through Paris France. Oops I just got all sentimental and cheesy...just more proof that I'm not quite over my honeymoon stage with Paris too!
Love you and miss you all!!
xoxo
This Sunday was really powerful. Three times a year we have a sacrament meeting dedicated to missionary work and this week was one of them. The Chinese twins that got baptized about a month ago bore their testimony and its was so beautiful! Of course I had to hear it translated from Chinese to French...but they are just so sweet and I just love them so much!! And then all 12 of us missionaries sang Called To Serve. We sang the first verse in English, then sang it again in Chinese, and then finished with it in French! The fun part is one elder was on the piano and did a really fun arrangement that Im not exactly sure was Sacrament meeting appropriate...but hey it got everyone really pumped on missionary work! haha We felt like quite the stars...everyone kept telling us how much they loved and it really reminded me of our special calling we have right now. That members really do look to us as different and as examples...made me wear my badge with just a little more pride (the good kind of pride though I promise ;) ) Soeur Pearce and I were also asked to go in an speak with the young women about being missionaries and I loved it...the young women are such amazing examples of living the gospel in difficult circumstances...I just felt like I was glowing from their presence! Anyways... I felt all repumped with missionary spirit and ready to make this transfer great!
Let's see other adventures we've had this week. I got to feel like a 'vrai missionnaire' this week as it rained during our district contacting activity...we sang hymns on a street corner and by the time we got home I think I resembled a drowned rat...the squishing in my shoes made me feel like a true missionary haha. We also got to visit my favorite part of the city, the 18th, and got into a 'discussion' with the TJ's ( Jehovahs Wittness). They stopped us and were like 'dont you ever wonder why we dedicate our lives and go out to share our message? Don't you think God is behind us?' I kinda wanted to say...no I've never wondered that...obviously I think God is with us haha...just kidding I know those are fighting words... I just thought it was ironic that he would ask missionaries from another church that question. He also asked us 'do people ever mistake you for us?' The snarky side of Soeur Pearce came out when she said afterwards ' I wanted to respond, ya thanks alot! because of you no one wants to talk to us!' haha...they really were generally nice...just ironic haha. We also got to see a preacher yelling in the streets...made me grateful that we generally don't use that type of contacting anymore haha. We also experienced an almost miracle! haha We got a referral from Salt Lake a few weeks ago and every time we've gone over to drop off a Book of Mormon we have had to stand outside the apartment building till someone goes in or out because we don't have the code. As we were walking to it this time we passed this little old lady who looked like a puff of wind could blow her over...and Soeur Pearce was like 'How heavy do you think her cart is?' (she was pushing a little grocery cart) I said I think its empty (in my defense it really did look empty!) So we kept walking. We kept walking till we got to the apartment building and then started to wait. After about 10 minutes I said a little prayer to myself that someone would show up...and all of the sudden guess who comes around the corner (well I guess it wasn't very sudden) but that same little old lady came bumbling up to us and asked us to punch in the code for her because her hands were shaking. So MIRACLE we know have the code for the apartment building...ALMOST MIRACLE we totally felt ashamed that we hadn't stopped to help her since it turns out she was going to help us in the end! As a result when we were walking back to the metro we passed another old lady and both of us about jump at the chance to help her with her groceries but when we offered she answered back in a very capable voice 'don't worry I've got it '...as we walked away Soeur Pearce just looked at me and said 'well she was a little more spry!' hahah Moral of the story...offer to help people even if you think they wont neccessarily need it...the worst they can say is no! But you could be turning down the chance for a miracle!
Well that pretty much sums up the week. This week we for P Day we went to the Louvre! Thanks to Soeur Pearce's Rick Steves book we were only in there for about 2 hours and saw the most essential things. I loved it though! One of the coolest parts was the building its self...we barely even touched everything in there I can't get over how huge it is! We also relived my Israel days and got Fallafal in the Jewish quarter of Paris (not going to lie...the Israeli ones were better...) but it was a cultural experience nevertheless! Honestly my favorite part of this week came right after we had an uplifting mangez-vous with a member and it was raining outside and Soeur Pearce and I were walking down this adorable little french street (the building had flowers and balconies...you know...the whole french works) and all the sudden I knew I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but walking in the rain through Paris France. Oops I just got all sentimental and cheesy...just more proof that I'm not quite over my honeymoon stage with Paris too!
Love you and miss you all!!
xoxo
Sunday, June 12, 2011
June 6, 2011
Bonjour Bonjour!!!
Want to know something crazy!!! Ive offically been in Paris for 6 weeks now!!! Isn't that crazy!!! I cant believe it!!! Some of the BYU students have completed a full study abroad here, some people dream about living in Paris for as long as I have, and Ive only just begun!!! More importantly... I found out that I get to spend at least another 6 weeks here in Paris because the transfer email came out and Im offically staying here! and even better...Soeur Pearce and I are staying together!!! Wahoo!!!! So everything worked out how we wanted (thank you president). One of our roommates is being tranfered and a francophone is moving in...which means Ill be living with 3 of the best french speaking sisters so hopefully I will see some massive growth in my french abilities in this next transfer. We are also seeing some big changes in our ward/district. They are putting another set of chinese elders in our ward, and splitting our district into two districts- one chinese district and one french district. Which means our ward is officially going to have 12 missionaries in it!!! So crazy...we are pretty sure Paris holds the record for most missionaries in one ward in all of Europe... Im waiting to hear of one bigger anywhere else in the world. Certainly makes for a fun dynamic in the ward and during the week because we feel like we see other missionaries all the time. Our DMP (ward mission leader) joked that although the mission keeps getting less and less missionaries, our ward keeps getting more and more haha. For now Im just enjoying being in the social part of the mission...because heaven knows soon Ill be sent out to some outer ville where my companion and I are the only missionaries for miles and miles....
ANYWAYS This week was a week of mangez-vous!!! We ate with people a ton this week! One family we got to eat with this week (the Hititos) are adorable!!! Their kids are full of diva- attitude!! But I was so impressed by the kids and their gospel knowledge. We brought Lou with us because they have a son the same age and it was amazing to see the difference in their behavior. Lou has come from a home of love and where people want the best for her...she is just so OF the world...its obnoxious to be honest. And these kids were just different somehow and you could tell the home was blessed from the gospel. ( and they dont mind blessing every part of their home... like when the little girl blessed their pet rabbit in her prayer haha) We also ate with the Stankiewiczs!!! So much fun that Miranda and I happened to be in Paris at the same time and I got to see them!!! It was like a little piece of home!!! And from our topic of discussions I may have had to explain to Sister Pearce that I have a pageant background and now I get endless teasing about that!!! So Queen Silverstar has now been added to my long list of nicknames....
Along with Bloody-Eyed Betsy! Because this week I got pink eye. Yup that was fun... at first I tried to play it off as just my eye being red from allergies( and tried to self doctor it with a home made eye patch haha)...but when it burned and stung like nothing Ive ever felt before I knew something was different...so we went into a french pharamcy (apparently they can hand out perscriptions here) and let the little french pharamcist fuss over me and find just the right perscription...three euros later and I was good to go. But now after a week of scaring little children with my swollen and bloodshot eye its finally healed and I back to wearing my contacts haha... mom dont freak out I promise Im fine...I mostly just told you that story so you could appreciate that I looked like a pirate all week haha
Lets see-also crossed off some more sights seen this week. Last Pday we went to Sacre Coure and took can-can pictures in front of Moulin Rouge. Today I filled one of my life long dreams of visiting the Opera House where Phantom of Opera was inspired. And it was BEAUTIFUL!!! I had another moment of *eek I live in paris* when I was walking up the stairs and singing 'Mascarade' in my head :) It was great. I had also another first in which we got to hand out an Arabic book of Mormon because Soeur Pearce talked to a man from Egypt on the metro (but he happened to be Christian) anyways he actually came to church and we gave him an arabic book of mormon wnich was pretty cool. It was kind of funny though I sat next to him during Sacrament Meeting and he did the cross with the bread and water... I didnt know how to tell him we don't do that... so Ill let the elders sort that out when they teach him haha.
As usual we had a couple entertaining moments this week. We watched a tender/ hilarious moment on the metro. It was really crowded so we were all crammed in there... and this baby was strapped to her mom's back so the mom had no idea what was going on. Well the baby just reached out to the man standing next to her and started to play with his buttons on his shirt. You could tell he felt really awkward and tried to be all cute with the baby and shake her hand and move it off of his chest... but the baby was insistant on playing with his buttons. So then he tried to be cute and like poke the babies nose...but just then the metro started and he ended up jabbing the baby in the face haha....Soeur Pearce and I were dying laughing...it ended up tender though when he just gave up and put his hand on the pole in the metro and the baby imitated him and put her hand right under his lol. As well church was an adventure as always. Soeur Pearce and I were sitting in Sunday School when we realized we were the only missionaries in class...which is a little suspicous with a ward with 10 missionaries...so we slipped outside to see what was up. All the missionaries were standing in the courtyard with a mom and her three kids... and they said oh perfect... here are the sisters... can you guys escort this family to all the meeting in the church...and then a brother in our ward wispered "dont let them out of your sight" We were confused but figured we could ask questions later. So we took them to sunday school....and we soon found out we were asked to literally babysit Satan's minions. This children were out of control! I smiled at the youngest one and she literally hissed at me! HISSED! Anyways we spent the next two meeting shepharding the children back into the meetings... at one point the mom just got up and left the church property... I was convinced she had left her children for the church to deal with...but she came back 10 min later with waterbottles so I guess she was just thirsty. Anyways...turned out they were are refugees from africa somewhere and the bishop helped them find a shelter of some sort...but Soeur Pearce and I learned our lesson that if you try and ditch Sunday School you will pay the price!!! haha
Well this weeks biggest drama was tranfers... everyone was tense with anticipation trying to figure out where they were going to go and how much was going to change since this is our last transfer with President Staheli I can't believe I survived my first transfer...people keep telling me this was the longest one and they just speed up from here (kind of hard to believe haha) But Im grateful for the opportunity Ive had to serve with Soeur Pearce and learn alot in my first transfer!!! Lets see if i can share with you some of the wise words of wisdom she has imparted on me:
1. "we (sisters) have to take our job very seriously to keep things spazzy"
2. "don't die"
3. its ok to admit if sometimes you are satan's minion
Ok maybe there are only funny to if your there...but if they dont make sense to you just be assured that we are having fun in the process of sharing the gospel. Most importantly...she likes to remind me that we are human, the church did not hire robots to preach the gospel for a reason, and she still loves me even after I make a bajillin mistakes. Ok but seriously, its been a good transfer and I can't way to see what the next one holds!!! Love you all!!!
xoxo
Soeur Smith
Want to know something crazy!!! Ive offically been in Paris for 6 weeks now!!! Isn't that crazy!!! I cant believe it!!! Some of the BYU students have completed a full study abroad here, some people dream about living in Paris for as long as I have, and Ive only just begun!!! More importantly... I found out that I get to spend at least another 6 weeks here in Paris because the transfer email came out and Im offically staying here! and even better...Soeur Pearce and I are staying together!!! Wahoo!!!! So everything worked out how we wanted (thank you president). One of our roommates is being tranfered and a francophone is moving in...which means Ill be living with 3 of the best french speaking sisters so hopefully I will see some massive growth in my french abilities in this next transfer. We are also seeing some big changes in our ward/district. They are putting another set of chinese elders in our ward, and splitting our district into two districts- one chinese district and one french district. Which means our ward is officially going to have 12 missionaries in it!!! So crazy...we are pretty sure Paris holds the record for most missionaries in one ward in all of Europe... Im waiting to hear of one bigger anywhere else in the world. Certainly makes for a fun dynamic in the ward and during the week because we feel like we see other missionaries all the time. Our DMP (ward mission leader) joked that although the mission keeps getting less and less missionaries, our ward keeps getting more and more haha. For now Im just enjoying being in the social part of the mission...because heaven knows soon Ill be sent out to some outer ville where my companion and I are the only missionaries for miles and miles....
ANYWAYS This week was a week of mangez-vous!!! We ate with people a ton this week! One family we got to eat with this week (the Hititos) are adorable!!! Their kids are full of diva- attitude!! But I was so impressed by the kids and their gospel knowledge. We brought Lou with us because they have a son the same age and it was amazing to see the difference in their behavior. Lou has come from a home of love and where people want the best for her...she is just so OF the world...its obnoxious to be honest. And these kids were just different somehow and you could tell the home was blessed from the gospel. ( and they dont mind blessing every part of their home... like when the little girl blessed their pet rabbit in her prayer haha) We also ate with the Stankiewiczs!!! So much fun that Miranda and I happened to be in Paris at the same time and I got to see them!!! It was like a little piece of home!!! And from our topic of discussions I may have had to explain to Sister Pearce that I have a pageant background and now I get endless teasing about that!!! So Queen Silverstar has now been added to my long list of nicknames....
Along with Bloody-Eyed Betsy! Because this week I got pink eye. Yup that was fun... at first I tried to play it off as just my eye being red from allergies( and tried to self doctor it with a home made eye patch haha)...but when it burned and stung like nothing Ive ever felt before I knew something was different...so we went into a french pharamcy (apparently they can hand out perscriptions here) and let the little french pharamcist fuss over me and find just the right perscription...three euros later and I was good to go. But now after a week of scaring little children with my swollen and bloodshot eye its finally healed and I back to wearing my contacts haha... mom dont freak out I promise Im fine...I mostly just told you that story so you could appreciate that I looked like a pirate all week haha
Lets see-also crossed off some more sights seen this week. Last Pday we went to Sacre Coure and took can-can pictures in front of Moulin Rouge. Today I filled one of my life long dreams of visiting the Opera House where Phantom of Opera was inspired. And it was BEAUTIFUL!!! I had another moment of *eek I live in paris* when I was walking up the stairs and singing 'Mascarade' in my head :) It was great. I had also another first in which we got to hand out an Arabic book of Mormon because Soeur Pearce talked to a man from Egypt on the metro (but he happened to be Christian) anyways he actually came to church and we gave him an arabic book of mormon wnich was pretty cool. It was kind of funny though I sat next to him during Sacrament Meeting and he did the cross with the bread and water... I didnt know how to tell him we don't do that... so Ill let the elders sort that out when they teach him haha.
As usual we had a couple entertaining moments this week. We watched a tender/ hilarious moment on the metro. It was really crowded so we were all crammed in there... and this baby was strapped to her mom's back so the mom had no idea what was going on. Well the baby just reached out to the man standing next to her and started to play with his buttons on his shirt. You could tell he felt really awkward and tried to be all cute with the baby and shake her hand and move it off of his chest... but the baby was insistant on playing with his buttons. So then he tried to be cute and like poke the babies nose...but just then the metro started and he ended up jabbing the baby in the face haha....Soeur Pearce and I were dying laughing...it ended up tender though when he just gave up and put his hand on the pole in the metro and the baby imitated him and put her hand right under his lol. As well church was an adventure as always. Soeur Pearce and I were sitting in Sunday School when we realized we were the only missionaries in class...which is a little suspicous with a ward with 10 missionaries...so we slipped outside to see what was up. All the missionaries were standing in the courtyard with a mom and her three kids... and they said oh perfect... here are the sisters... can you guys escort this family to all the meeting in the church...and then a brother in our ward wispered "dont let them out of your sight" We were confused but figured we could ask questions later. So we took them to sunday school....and we soon found out we were asked to literally babysit Satan's minions. This children were out of control! I smiled at the youngest one and she literally hissed at me! HISSED! Anyways we spent the next two meeting shepharding the children back into the meetings... at one point the mom just got up and left the church property... I was convinced she had left her children for the church to deal with...but she came back 10 min later with waterbottles so I guess she was just thirsty. Anyways...turned out they were are refugees from africa somewhere and the bishop helped them find a shelter of some sort...but Soeur Pearce and I learned our lesson that if you try and ditch Sunday School you will pay the price!!! haha
Well this weeks biggest drama was tranfers... everyone was tense with anticipation trying to figure out where they were going to go and how much was going to change since this is our last transfer with President Staheli I can't believe I survived my first transfer...people keep telling me this was the longest one and they just speed up from here (kind of hard to believe haha) But Im grateful for the opportunity Ive had to serve with Soeur Pearce and learn alot in my first transfer!!! Lets see if i can share with you some of the wise words of wisdom she has imparted on me:
1. "we (sisters) have to take our job very seriously to keep things spazzy"
2. "don't die"
3. its ok to admit if sometimes you are satan's minion
Ok maybe there are only funny to if your there...but if they dont make sense to you just be assured that we are having fun in the process of sharing the gospel. Most importantly...she likes to remind me that we are human, the church did not hire robots to preach the gospel for a reason, and she still loves me even after I make a bajillin mistakes. Ok but seriously, its been a good transfer and I can't way to see what the next one holds!!! Love you all!!!
xoxo
Soeur Smith
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