tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85474898254283805832024-03-05T08:16:27.883-08:00an american in paris<center>letters, pictures, and adventures of sister williams</center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-60323851910292232352012-04-03T22:51:00.001-07:002012-04-03T22:51:08.481-07:00a few things.<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we are enjoying a </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">lovely time in paris and lyon. to see what we're up to, go here:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.richardandsuel.blogspot.fr/">http://www.richardandsuel.blogspot.com</a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">also: Lindsay will be speaking in church on April 15th at 11:00 am</span><br />
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<span class="visible" style="margin-right: 10px;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Mahogony LDS Church Building , 1321 West 3540 North in Pleasant Grove (just a few blocks directly east of our house)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">see you soon!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-65202578920944803402012-03-26T05:53:00.000-07:002012-03-26T05:55:13.218-07:00a list.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc9933; font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: medium;">what do you say at the end of a mission?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">i loved it more than anything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">it changed my life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">i'm so happy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">all of that seems so insignificant, so small, compared to what my mission really was for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">the words just simply do not exist!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">the only thing i can think to do is, of course, make a list. :)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #66cccc; font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: x-large;"><strong>10 little things that make me terribly happy:</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #66cccc; font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: x-large;">my last week as a missionary edition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">1. Carlos passed the sacrament and bore his testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon yesterday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">2. Clément came and taught an ami with us this week. He's also going to get his temple recommend soon. Bliss.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">3. feeling so loved by our beloved little branch as we said au revoir.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">4. crying and laughing (but mostly laughing) with soeur larsen all week long</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">5. spending monday afternoon at a beautiful château, trying to soak up every little french detail</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">6. eating "à la niçoise" sunday night with our ami who is from nice. yum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">7. cobblestones and baguettes and "bonjour"s.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">8. bearing my testimony as often as i can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">9. watching the book of mormon change lives little by little every day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">10. living my <em>dream</em>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #cc9933;"><strong><em>so</em> much</strong> love from the loire.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: medium;">à bientôt,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: medium;">little mish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">ps... she was supposed to send LOTS of pics today, but forgot her camera cord. the pics will be added later this week, so be sure to check back!!</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-36245033170373433802012-03-19T03:33:00.000-07:002012-03-19T03:35:02.135-07:00too busy to write!<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #93c47d;">I received a short little note from Lindsay today that said:</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">we have TWENTY-TWO lessons scheduled for this week. that's a lot for this </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">mission! we're going to sprint to the finish. then next monday and </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">tuesday will be packing and cleaning (i'll write a last email, don't </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">worry) and then wednesday morning we leave for paris!</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">i'm doing good. it's going to be hard, but i'm excited for our</span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">busy week and even MORE excited for paris!</span> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">i'm sorry, but i won't be able to send a big email today. we're </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">going to a château with some members that's kind of far away, so we </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">have to leave early. i will send a nice long email with lots of </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">pictures next week though! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">love you xo</span> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I love that she's too busy to write on her last week of her mission! </i></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-50150999621784542382012-03-12T06:38:00.000-07:002012-03-12T06:38:25.870-07:00you can make the pathway bright.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">last week before fast sunday, i read a talk by Joseph B. Wirthlin called "The Law of the Fast" (read it!). I loved this quote:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">“If you want to get the spirit of your office and calling as a new president of a quorum, a new high [councilor], a new bishop [or, I might say, a Relief Society president]—try fasting for a period. I don’t mean just missing one meal, then eating twice as much the next meal. I mean really fasting, and praying during that period. It will do more to give you the real spirit of your office and calling and permit the Spirit to operate through you than anything I know."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I read it, mulled it over in my head, and decided that if it works for a bishop or a relief society president, it works for a sister missionary. I showed it to Soeur Larsen, and we agreed to fast to be filled with the spirit of our calling. we fasted and prayed, and of course, it worked. we were filled up to the brim with the missionary spirit. this week was just amazing. we taught more lessons than we ever have here in Blois, we had new amis just pop up out of nowhere, and all the while we happily bounced from lesson to lesson, testifying and inviting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Maria is doing great. this week we taught her with Ginette, an older member in the branch. she and her husband have been members for 35 years and just got back last year from a three-year mission in the swiss temple. they're so good. anyway, Ginette was just perfect to teach with us. Maria has two little kids, 8 mos. and 2 years, and the two year-old is a HANDFUL. i've never seen a crazier, wilder child in my life. Needless to say, some days are pretty hard for her. Ginette has two kids who are close together in age, so she was like, "girl, i've so been there" and then gave a little "this too shall pass". it was great and just what maria needed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we've been working a lot with maria about the book of mormon. we had a really good lesson this week- we just explained the book of mormon clearly and simply. we brought the Book of Mormon edition of the Liahona to show her. she opened it at random, and it opened to an article called, "how do i know if the Book of Mormon is true?" she got so excited and said, "hey, that's my question!" then she dog-eared the page for later. so cute.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we taught Clément about temples this week, which was such a joy. he's so sweet and humble, and he just loves being a member. we explained that he can have a temple recommend right now to do baptisms for the dead, which he was super excited about. he's going to ask the branch president about it this week :) we get so happy every time he makes a step further into the gospel. It has been pure joy to watch him get baptized, get the priesthood, bless & pass the sacrament, get a calling, and now prepare for the temple. he even said the closing prayer in sacrament meeting a few weeks ago. there is nothing more joyous than seeing all this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we had another english lesson with Fumi on friday. we watched "The Restoration" together, then talked about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. We had a member, Pascale, there with us who speaks English very well. She bore her testimony of the Book of Mormon and told her conversion story. it was so cute with her french accent, and the spirit was so strong. Soeur Larsen and I testified of its power, and Fumi agreed to start reading and praying AND to come to church. and she came! she brought her Book of Mormon and a pen and was marking the verses we studied in Relief Society and sunday school. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc9933; font-size: medium;">You can live a happy life<br />In this world of toil and strife,<br />If there’s sunshine in your heart;<br />And your soul will glow with love<br />From the perfect Light above,<br />If there’s sunshine in your heart today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">missionary life is the best. especially in blois.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from the loire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-10136134849408340572012-03-05T05:52:00.001-08:002012-03-05T05:53:08.716-08:00emerging as gold.<br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">my cheeks are sore from smiling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">seriously.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">with each passing week, i get more and more tired. i also fall more and more in love with my mission. funny how that works! this week was so great, and lightning-fast. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">yesterday, we had a surprise: Carlos came to church! we were overjoyed. he got a haircut, shaved, and wore a white shirt and tie. it has been so amazing to watch him evolve. he was absolutely glowing... he cried when we sang "there is sunshine in my soul today". we are just in awe of him. such a beautiful redemption story. we talked about the Atonement with him this week and shared "The Atonement covers all Pain" by Elder Richards. I especially love this quote:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Our great personal challenge in mortality is to become “a saint through the atonement of Christ." The pain you and I experience may be where this process is most measured. In extremity, we can become as children in our hearts, humble ourselves, and “pray and work and wait" patiently for the healing of our bodies and our souls. As Job, after being refined through our trials, we “shall come forth as gold."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">that perfectly describes what is happening to Carlos. he has had a mighty change of heart. he went through a lot of painful things, but he is emerging "as gold".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we had kind of a funny experience this week: we found an old investigator, Fumi, in the area book. She's from Nigeria, which means she's an english speaker. we called her up and she was happy to hear from us, so we went over for a lesson. we were so nervous to teach in english! it was really funny. we even practiced teaching and praying in english before we went. :) it was a funny realization for me... a lot of times you hear foreign language-speaking missionaries get frustrated about not feeling like they can express themselves in their mission language, and then they say something like, "this would be SO much easier if i could just teach in english." well... it's not! it felt super weird. all of my thoughts kept coming in french, but i had to speak in english.... and i just felt awkward. i guess that's a good sign though, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">the lesson with Fumi went well, despite the language awkwardness. she has a really cool accent... in Nigeria they speak pidgeon english. her prayer at the end was so cool!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we had another lesson with an old investigator on saturday. her name is Arlette. she and her husband, Max, were investigating the church last year and really liked it. they wanted to get baptized, but the missionaries told them they couldn't because they had a tribal marriage (they're both from Cameroon). we went to see Arlette with a member this week and it went really good. she pulled out her Book of Mormon and the Bible and she said she and Max read them every night before bed. so cool! she talked about how she felt so warm and peaceful when she went to church, and that she was sad they weren't allowed to be baptized. Afterwards, we were talking with the member and she asked if we were sure about the whole tribal marriage thing. we weren't, so we called the assistants, and they said YES! we were so excited. we're going to go break the news to them this week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">life is lovely and busy and wonderful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from the loire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-79409423493662760222012-02-27T06:35:00.001-08:002012-02-27T06:35:36.720-08:00surrounded with beautiful things.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">this week was oh, so good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">wednesday afternoon was beautiful and sunshiney. we went to see Aude-Laurène, an inactive member. She was baptized in 2009, was active for a year, then kind of faded away. We had planned to talk about the Atonement and share the story of the woman touching the Savior's clothes, but then we got there and started talking and she told us about how she used to read the Bible and the Book of Mormon, then it became just the Bible, then nothing. She sometimes recites Bible verses to herself that she memorized as a child. It was the weirdest feeling, but I found myself turning to 2 Nephi 4 and saying all these things and just testifying of the Book of Mormon, and it was just amazing in it's own little way. Soeur Larsen asked her great questions. The spirit was strong, and we just felt inspired. By the end we had committed her to read 3 Nephi 11. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">after Aude-Laurène, we went to see Carlos, another inactive member. he used to be an awesome member- super active and strong, in the bishopric, etc. he has some very difficult challenges in his life which have led him into inactivity. the members all miss him, but they haven't been able to reach him for a year or so. so we passed by his apartment about a month ago, and it was one of the weirdest experiences of my mission. It was obvious he was not in his normal state of mind, which was so sad. He had been reading the Bible a lot and letting doubts and anti-mormon things creep into his mind. he went off for about an hour in his doorway about this and that, and not knowing what to do, we read him a verse in the Book of Mormon and left.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">so, we went over after Aude-Laurène with an elderly couple in our branch. We knocked on the door, not knowing what to expect and just hoping we could get a word in. Carlos opened the door with a smile on his face. I could see he had set out apple juice, cups, and a bowl of nuts on his coffee table. We walked in, and i instantly filled up with love for him. The spirit washed over all of us, and i just could not believe the difference. He had completely changed- he was glowing. we sat down, and there on the table behind him was his Book of Mormon, right next to his Bible. already knowing the answer, we asked, "Carlos, have you been reading the Book of Mormon?" "yes, every day." he replied. then he said through his tears, "I know it's true. It's the word of God." the spirit was almost tangible. we read 2 Nephi 32:3 and testified of the power of the Book of Mormon. I felt a constant flow of information to my mind and heart throughout the entire lesson. I was never at a loss as to what to say. but that wasn't the most amazing part. the most amazing part was <em>seeing</em> the power of the Book of Mormon. it changed him, completely. It humbled him and softened his heart. it was the most stark contrast, the most radical change i have ever seen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Nadiha has also been seeing the power of the Book of Mormon in her life. She is so zany and spunky, and we just love her. when we first started teaching her, we had a hard time understanding her, and we felt like she didn't get what we were saying. So, we started putting a heavy emphasis on the Book of Mormon. Sometimes we even call her at night and read a chapter with her over the phone. Little by little, she is beginning to change. she understands what we teach her, and we understand what she is saying. She loves the Book of Mormon, and every time she talks about what she's read, she gives us insights we have never even thought of before. it really is miraculous what the Book of Mormon can do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We went to see Kévin and Alexandra on saturday afternoon. we had planned to tell them we could not teach them anymore... they weren't progressing and have a very hard time coming to church. we got there and started talking and told them our purpose in teaching them is to lead them to baptism. they were like, "really?" (sometimes it's disheartening how much people don't listen to what we say) anyway. it actually turned out to be a great lesson though. Kévin told us he had read up to 2 Nephi 25 in the Book of Mormon. He told us that his life is hard, and there are a lot of things that are going wrong, but the only thing that is going right in his life is the Book of Mormon. He talked about how he loves the way we pray in our church, and he feels so much closer to Heavenly Father since he stopped doing recited prayers. He said, "well, sisters, you might just have another baptism before you leave." hah. so great.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">thursday evening we went contacting along the Loire river. it was a beautiful, breezy night. we talked with people on the street and with each other, and it was just magical. we marvelled at how amazing it is that the Lord put us in this beautiful little town, and that He <em>wants</em> us to enjoy and appreciate it. done! i love how He surrounds us with beautiful things, and allows us to create beauty as well. sometimes i forget how huge that really is. it reminds me of a quote by Brigham Young i read this morning:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">“There is a great work for the Saints to do. Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">and from President Uchtdorf:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come....trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">on saturday afternoon, we got on a bus to go to a neighboring town to do passbys. we don't sit next to each other when we're on the bus so we can talk to people. So, i got on and sat opposite a woman who was sitting by herself. She instantly read my tag, so I struck up a conversation. it was like we were already friends. Her name is Vanessa, and she's from Maurice Island. never heard of it? yeah, me neither. anyway, we bonded over the whole being-far-from-home-and-family thing. she said it's hard, but she relies on prayer to help her through it. I told her about a book I'm reading that comforts me and gives me counsel whenever i need it. I pulled out a copy of the Book of Mormon and offered it to her. She was really touched and said she was so happy to have met me. we exchanged phone numbers, and she said she would love to have us over to talk about the Book of Mormon and the church! it was so cool. I love how the Lord knows that a little missionary in a tiny town in a small country needed to be on a specific bus on a saturday afternoon to talk to this woman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">missionary work is the most amazing, miraculous thing. blessings are continually being poured out upon us. we are tired and worn out and sometimes it is just hard, but more often than not i feel almost as if there is a hand on my back, gently helping me along the way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from the loire.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> at the Blois château</span></span>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">pretty blois château.</span></span>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we love waiting for the bus.</span></span>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">our little town</span></span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-41234742886468182752012-02-20T05:38:00.000-08:002012-02-20T05:38:33.646-08:00my cup runneth over.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">firstly, thank you for your prayers. i'm feeling better! i had to spend the first half of the week confined to the couch... Not fun. But i went to the doctor on tuesday, and he gave me lots of cough syrups and such. he was asking me about what i'm doing here in France, so I explained a little bit, then he said, "oh, you're doing that thing that Mitt Romney did here when he was young." sure, i guess you could put it that way. we've been hearing a lot about Mitt Romney (or as they say it here, "Meet Ruhm-nay") lately. It's either Mitt or the temple in Paris. Oh well, at least more people know who we are now!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">other than the minor sickness setback, this week has been good. Soeur Larsen and I are still as happy as clams in our little French village. We really want to just sprint to the end, so we made a goal to speak 100 percent french all the time, even in the apartment. it's been a hard adjustment, mostly because we're such good friends and we like to chat when we get home. but it's getting there, and we can feel our french getting better! we also decided to read the entire Book of Mormon in French outloud this transfer. It has been a really good experience so far. It helps our pronunciation, and it really makes an effect on our day. We feel so good when we read, and the day just isn't as good if we forget to read. Isn't that neat? It's been really fun to end my mission with Soeur Larsen. It's so funny to think back on our MTC days, stuck in a tiny classroom all day, struggling to learn all the vocabulary and speak in full sentences in French. the time has flown by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we went to see a less active, Nathalie, this week. she's a single mother and she's been having a hard time the past few years. what do you do when someone is having a hard time? that's right, read them some President Uchtdorf! we pulled out the big guns: "Forget me Not". It went so good. How could it not? That talk could prick any woman's heart. We read from the talk and shared some scriptures and just testified of how much the Lord loves her. As we were talking, I felt so much love for her. it just filled me up, like pouring water into a glass. I just wanted to hug her and tell her everything would work out. But, we're in France, so i had to settle for the little air kisses. Not exactly the same effect, but ça va. I just love that feeling though... when we're in a lesson and we're <em>really</em>focused on the person and seeking the spirit, my little cup fills up with love for them every time. Isn't that amazing? I don't even know these people that well. I think one of the most important things i have learned on my mission is the real meaning of the phrase "my cup runneth over." Sometimes i feel like i am so full of love for these people that i'm afraid it will spill out and run over the top of my head, down to my toes. i love these french people, even if they are sometimes like their famous baguettes: crispy on the outside, but warm and soft on the inside. France is so warm and soft and i feel so at home here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from the loire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-9423985274818218172012-02-13T13:05:00.000-08:002012-02-13T13:05:12.658-08:00a letter from Soeur Larsen.<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i>Please note::</i></b></span><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><i>Lindsay has been sick the last few days and was feeling too "foggy" to write a big email for the blog this week... so I am posting the letter that sweet Soeur Larsen wrote to her family. It is a wonderful letter! These two Soeurs are SO very happy that they get to finish their missions together! Please keep them in your prayers as they begin the final stretch of their time in France... 6 weeks to go!</i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Last transfer!</span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So, my last transfer officially begins this Wednesday. It would probably bother me less if it wasn't brought up by every member and every missionary that I ever talk to... haha. But hey, good news! So, President Poznanski told Sr. W and I that we were definitely not staying together for our last transfer, which made sense to us because we're both dying at the same time so they'd have to whitewash the ville again, which is hard on the branch. So we were mentally prepared for that and excited and nervous for a little change for the last transfer. I remember feeling so good one night after doing planning we were talking about the area and I thought, well whatever happens, I left Blois better than I found it. So anyway the anticipation was mounting all the way til Saturday, when we got the transfer email, when lo and behold... Sister Williams and I are staying together in Blois for another transfer. I don't have to leave my beloved branch and my best friend! I'm overjoyed! Which also means that I will have only served in 3 areas my entire mission... weird. Everyone is surprised, and it looks like when people kept telling us they would pray for both of us to stay in Blois, they weren't kidding. Be careful what you pray for!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The excitement of the transfer news seems to have gotten the best of Sr. W though, she's been sick ever since. Yesterday we even missed church, which was the oddest thing I have ever done. Our amis still got to church though, and according to the DMB they were well taken care of. We also got a bunch of phone calls from people checking up on Soeur Williams and offering advice, and the family who had invited us over to eat brought the meal to us instead. We have the best branch ever :) She's doing better now, don't worry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Our amis are doing well, we invited Isabelle to get baptized last week and she said yes, so we're going to start working towards a date. She's just such a wonderful person and it's been such a miracle to teach her. She understands the gospel, everything makes sense to her, and while she was a little reluctant about a few things at first, she's been trying out the things we've asked her to do like praying differently and reading the Book of Mormon and she's opened up a lot. She feels like family already and she gets along great with the branch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We also have several members who have invited us to come teach their friends this week, and we're so excited! That's the absolute best kind of missionary work to do! Woot! Haha.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Oh also this last week we did exchanges with the soeurs in Angers, which was super fun. I was with Soeurs Soares and Woodruff (who was in the MTC with me) and Soeur Williams was with Soeur Emilcy. It was fun to see a new area, and Angers has a super legit castle. Also we had a miracle! Tuesday night we were going to contact an American girl who had been referred by her friend. She had this super wierd address and we couldn't find it anywhere and no one we asked knew where it was. Finally, just before time to head home we found it, knocked on the door and an American girl opened the door and went, "the Mormon missionaries!" Oh sweet music to my ears. She was so excited! She even went, "Hold on, I'm talking to my boyfriend on Skype. He'll be so excited you guys found me!" Well, that's one I haven't heard before, I'll be honest. We were so thrown off to get such a joyful welcome! We got to know her and she talked about how she'd been basically raised Mormon, all her friends were Mormon and she used to go to church with them and FHE and everything. Too good! So, I was half hoping to get transferred to Angers so I could start teaching her with them, but no luck. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I felt like I had a lot to say when I sat down, but it has fled my mind... Not a lot happened this week, outside of the usual... Tuesday and Wednesday we were on exchanges, and Friday we were inside because I was sick, and I was hoping that one day where I just forced myself to stay in bed would make everything all better. It worked, I feel great now, but I seem to have passed it. So yesterday I studied a lot, and Saturday I deep cleaned the apartment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Well I can tell you about my exciting studies! So one of the many great things about my companion is that she is a literature major, and she loves words. She has this giant dictionary and she taught me the fun of looking up words. Sometimes for studies she'll just take one verse and dissect it and look up all the words and just get all these new meanings out of it and it's crazy and super cool. So yesterday I did a lot of that, and did the same thing with my patriarchal blessing. It blew my mind! I got so many different meanings and a totally new understanding out of it and I would just recommend everyone to do it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We did transfer planning on Saturday, and we have lots of good goals for this transfer to finish strong! We're doing an English fast this transfer, speaking only French together, soaking up my last 6 weeks of being surrounded by this beautiful language. Sad day. We've also been reading out loud together out of the Book of Mormon after reading something that said if you read the BOM out loud in a language you'll be fluent in it. I've been surprised how much it's helped, not only my French, but just our companionship and the Spirit in our apartment. I love that book, it's a powerful thing. I love how it has become the first thing I turn to when I need an answer or comfort or anything at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Well I hope you all have a super awesome week, Happy Valentine's Day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Soeur Larsen</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-58314411458638639302012-02-06T06:38:00.000-08:002012-02-06T06:38:29.614-08:00freezing hands, warm heart.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc9933; font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: x-large;"><strong>i have never been so cold in my entire life.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">below freezing temperatures and winds so fierce i thought it was going to blow my eyelashes right off of my face.... that was our week. finally, mercifully, we woke up yesterday to a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. more like lots of blankets: it was around FOUR inches! four inches of glorious snow. i was so happy that after all that freezing cold, we finally had something to show for it. Soeur Larsen and I walked home from church in absolute snowy heaven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">While Soeur Larsen were blissfully enjoying our snowflake day, Blois was thrown into chaos. They're not really equipped for snow: no snowplows, no shovels, no salt. that's right: no salt. they throw dirt on the snow instead, turning it into dangerously slippery mud puddles (don't worry, i only fell down ONCE!). Soeur Larsen and I found it highly amusing watching everyone sprinkle dirt on their snowy walkways.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">we had some cool little experiences this week. we had some extra time before a rendez-vous on friday afternoon, so we decided to do some door-knocking (what is that called in english? we call it "porting" because the french word for door is "porte") anyway. It was a painfully cold and windy day and we looked like hoboes with all of our layers and scarves on. no one was letting us in and we were just so cold. we finally found a quiet spot and prayed. essentially we said, "Heavenly Father, we are so cold. please lead us to someone who will let us in so we can get warm". Not even five minutes later, a muslim girl let us into her apartment building. even though she wasn't interested, we were so grateful to be able to stand inside the door of her apartment building for a few minutes so we could rub our faces to get the feeling back into them. I love that He will answer even the silly little prayers from two desperately cold missionaries. He is so kind and good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">On Tuesday, we went to a neighboring town to pass by a couple that was referred to us by our branch president's wife. their son is a member and lives about an hour away with his wife. This member of ours has been reaching out to them (she gave them a Book of Mormon!) and sharing the gospel with them. She gave us their address last week, so we decided to go and check it out. the husband was there and talked with us for a few minutes. he went on and on about how much he likes all the members he's met, and we chatted about the church. He wasn't interested in anything more than that, but we felt okay about it. Afterwards, we went over to see the Branch President's wife, since she had had carpel tunnel surgery the week before and we wanted to see how she was doing. She invited us in and we talked for a few minutes and told her we had just passed by the referral she had given us. She looked surprised, then said she had felt impressed to pray for them about an hour before- right when we were getting to the town- so she did. It was a cool little miracle that strengthened her faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">Samuel and Etienne, our two little boys, are doing so good. we went over for a lesson on friday with Frère Poznanski, our mission president's dad. At first, only Samuel was there. the last time we taught him, we asked him to try praying that night. we asked him if he did it, and he said he did and that Heavenly Father had answered his prayer. It was the sweetest thing, watching a little twelve year-old boy telling us about his very first experience with prayer and with God. we asked him what he remembered about the plan of salvation and were pleasantly surprised when he gave us a detailed description of what we had taught him the week before. yes! so, we went on to explaining prophets and scriptures. It has been an interesting experience, teaching children who had no concept of God or Jesus Christ or religion at all. It has definitely helped us simplify our teaching! anyway. we watched the Restoration DVD with them (Etienne joined in just as we started it) and they totally got it. we were just blown away by how smart they are. We gave them each their own Book of Mormon, and the two of them both opened it up and started reading the introduction on the spot. they are both so guileless and faithful and pure. pray for them!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">On Tuesday, we went to see Hélène, a less-active in our branch. it had been a crazy day, and my sore ankle had spread all the way up to my leg. i was in pain and uncomfortable throughout the lesson, but we had a good time with her. at the end, we asked her to give the closing prayer. She said a sweet little prayer, and asked a blessing that our legs wouldn't be sore. She had no idea about my leg! it was a sweet little reminder that Heavenly Father is watching over us and knows what we're doing. Isn't that neat?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">love from the loire.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc9933; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: medium;"><strong>little mish.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> too tired to put pajamas on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> snow!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-86607206345051622462012-01-30T06:25:00.001-08:002012-01-30T06:25:37.148-08:00we are doing a great work and we cannot come down.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">we had interviews- our last ones- with president this week. it was so surreal. President and Soeur Poznanski gave an amazing training on the story of Nehemiah. They announced our mission theme for 2012:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: x-large;">"we are doing a great work and we cannot come down."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;"> it was a good little boost for us as Soeur Larsen and I get ready to head into our last transfer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">do you remember Isabelle? she is the one who received a flyer in her mailbox for our Christmas spectacle and came, then came to church the next sunday. we finally got a rendez-vous with her this week and it was so good. She was born and raised Catholic, like most people around here. But, she questions the Catholic church, also like most people around here. We taught her the first lesson: prophets and dispensations, Christ's earthly ministry, the great apostasy, the restoration, and the Book of Mormon. the spirit was so strong and she accepted all of it. she was just glowing. she is so prepared for the gospel... she just drinks it all in. we're really excited about her... we're going to invite her to be baptized this week!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">it was a lovely week. as always, Soeur Larsen and I are having a blast skipping and testifying all over this town!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">love from the loire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">little mish.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-64192526800227690652012-01-23T05:59:00.001-08:002012-01-23T05:59:58.804-08:00you can have your orange juice and drink it too.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: medium;"><strong>i feel as if my heart might just burst.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">this week was one of those happy, blessed weeks where everything is bright and glowy and wonderful. it's chilly outside, but i don't mind. i try not to panic when i think that january is almost over. so fast, so fast. i'm trying to soak up every second i have left like a sponge. Soeur Larsen and I just burst with happiness every week at church. Our branch is like a little family (and not just because half our branch members are related in some way)... i have so many little mamans and papas here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">yesterday at church, we scheduled appointments with all of the members for the next two weeks; we're going to be making the rounds to present the Branch Mission Plan. almost every single member that we have a rendez-vous with offered to feed us! it was really funny. we didn't even go grocery shopping today. we had the first of our appointments last night and they sent us home with a loaf of bread fresh from the oven. France rocks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">i may have already told you this story, but i'm going to refresh your memory. So about two months ago, we went to visit an AWESOME family in our branch. they have two young sons, ages 10 and 12, who love the church and were always asking us how the work was going. So we decided to use them. we promised them that if they would pray every day and ask Heavenly Father to help us, we would find a family with boys their age and bring them to church. Fast forward to thursday night. we were at the apartment when we felt that we should go visit an inactive family in the branch. We had never met them before- they've been inactive for at least 10 years and they didn't want to see the missionaries. our branch mission leader suggested we try passing by. We had them on the brain for a week or so, but every time we planned to pass by something came up. We left right away and hopped on the bus (thursday night). We easily found their apartment. someone had just gone in the building, so the door was open. we slipped right in, found their apartment number on the mailboxes, and went up. as we got to their door, it opened and a friend of theirs left. they saw us and we waved, so they HAD to let us in! it was a total miracle. we had a great lesson with them. He is French and she's English, so we got to speak a little english with her... it felt weird. anyway, they have two young sons who are not members of the church. In fact, they don't know anything about religion. They don't know who Jesus is. But the two of them sat in for our lesson and prayer and said they wanted us to come back and teach them. the parents didn't have any objection... in fact, the dad wants to come back to church! we asked them how old their sons were.... and they replied, 10 and 12. I had the hardest time containing my excitement until we got outside! 10 and 12! and they're going to come to church! we could not believe it. it was nothing short of a miracle. we told the two boys in our branch yesterday, and they were thrilled. their prayers were answered! we have an appointment to teach the boys on friday. we can't wait. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;">We had a funny experience with Nadiha this week. we were teaching her about prophets, but the discussion switched to the word of wisdom. She drinks coffee and tea, and seemed reluctant to give it up. We explained that she could still have hot chocolate and herbal tea and she looked shocked. "really?" she said. "i can even have orange juice and stuff like that?" it was pretty funny. We explained to her that the word of wisdom does not ban ALL drinks, just the bad ones. then she happily accepted to live it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">missionary life is the best kind of life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">love from the loire,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">little mish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', monospace;"></span> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-68384416767566955142012-01-16T05:07:00.000-08:002012-01-16T05:19:20.888-08:00my name is soeur williams, and i'm a mormon.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">bonjour!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">the most exciting thing ever happened yesterday: Clément blessed the sacrament! Soeur Larsen and I were glowing with happiness. I love to watch recent converts grow and progress in the church. A sweet member in the branch started crying about Clément in her talk... He is absolutely adored by all the members. Next stop... temple!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Another cool thing happened this week. Last sunday, a member in our branch came up to us and told us that she had run into an old investigator in town. The two got to talking and the investigator, Nadhia, said she wanted to see the missionaries again. We passed by her house and she let us right in and told us she had been waiting for us. She's around 50... a teeny little French woman with three cats and crazy African sculptures in her house. We like her already! (minus the cats part) She came to a branch activity with us that day and all the members remembered her name and welcomed her back in with open arms. We're excited about her! The members here in Blois are just stellar. For a missionary, that is the BEST.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We started volunteering at the Red Cross recently. When volunteering there, we are asked to take off our missionary tags and we are not allowed to initiate a conversation about our church. So, we prayed beforehand this week that the other volunteers would ask us about our church and our mission. When we walked in, before we could say anything, the volunteer ladies were bombarding us with questions. "You're mormon, right?" "what are you doing in France?", etc. It was so cool! Everyone was really accepting, and they even gave us herbal tea during their coffee break. I hope we will be able to teach them by example, since we're not able to actually teach them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Other than that, not much has happened this week... Just lovely missionary life! I'm sorry it's so short... I'm not feeling very good today. love you all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we found this building in Blois... built in 1470!</span></span>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> pictures from around town</span></span>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-47653459374121629722012-01-09T06:05:00.001-08:002012-01-09T06:17:56.805-08:00the newest little fish in our pond.<br />
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<span style="color: #ffcc00; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em><strong>Clément got baptized!</strong></em></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">and it was so perfect. the week proceeding the baptism, soeur larsen and i would just randomly look at each other and start giggling. who would have thought that she and i would be having a baptism together in the field? it was surreal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">since there isn't a baptismal font in Blois, the baptism was held saturday evening in Orléans. the ENTIRE branch of Blois showed up for the event (all 50 of us!), plus Clément's in-laws and friends. it was a full house! everyone was chatting and laughing and bise-ing. (seriously, LOTS of kissing goes down at a french baptism!) He was so calm and happy, despite the fact that the heating was not working at all in the building and the water in the font was cold. It was so much fun to see him in white, then in a suit and tie. he just looked so mormon. it was the BEST.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The Branch President gave a talk after the ordinance, welcoming Clément as a member of the church. He said everyone in the world is like a little fish, swimming along the current. But we, as members of the church, have to dare to be different and swim against the current. Clément joked afterwards that he was a little frozen fish :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Afterwards, we all ate Galette des Rois, a french new year's tradition. it's kind of like a tart with a little toy hidden inside. the person who gets the toy in their piece gets to wear a paper crown. it was a party.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">yesterday, Clément got up in sacrament meeting and bore his testimony. It was so sweet and humble. Soeur Larsen and I felt like glowing parents. He also said the closing prayer.... the branch is REALLY excited he's finally a member! He was so ready. He's getting the Aaronic Priesthood next week, and then he'll be off!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we went and had lunch with Odile, a member in our branch, this week. She's a tiny little frenchwoman and we just adore her. She 's so eccentric and so herself... for example, if she wears a purple dress, she wears purple lipstick and carries a purple purse too. she loves to laugh and to talk about beautiful things and deep things too. we had a delicious little french lunch and talked. She told us about how much she loves David Bowie and Captain Moroni, and all the gospel ties she found in the Lord of the Rings. We love to partake of her wisdom. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we have another member in our ward who is a pâtissier. (he is also the fiancé of one of our amis) so this week, we went over to their apartment and he taught us how to make macarons while we taught his fiancée the gospel. it was a pretty good system, if you ask me! it was fun to learn how to make something french... now i can make something a little more impressive than crêpes and quiche!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">i had a little personal triumph this week: i finished the Book of Mormon in French! i was proud of myself. i even read the Isaiah chapters. It was a really cool experience to read the Book of Mormon in my mission language... something i'll never forget!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from the loire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Clement's baptism!</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">in downtown Blois</span></span>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">with chris and maria</span></span>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">our street... rue denis papin</span></span>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-36457308459872730142012-01-02T07:04:00.000-08:002012-01-02T19:12:49.301-08:00a charming new year.<br />
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<span style="color: #330099; font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: x-large;"><strong>happy 2012!</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">my "blackout year" has come to an end. (blackout year=when you spend all of one year as a missionary). it has flown by. we had a lovely new year celebration, french style. On New Year's eve, we went to the Liébard family's house for dinner. it was just the best. they have a perfect little french house and it was just so cozy and charming. We had raclette for dinner.... heaven. then we got to play a board game! it's been a LONG time since i've done that. It made me miss scrabble :) we were home by 9:30 and in bed by 10:00. aaaand that was the extent of our partying. it was perfect!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">yesterday as we were walking into the chapel for sacrament meeting, our branch president came up to us and asked both of us to each give a 10 minute talk right after the sacrament. I was also playing the piano so I had zero time to think about what I was going to say. I said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help me to know what to say. My turn came, and I went up to the pulpit with my scriptures and just started talking. It was like my mouth detatched itself from the rest of my body and took off running. It felt like I had no control over what I was saying! It was a really cool, out-of-body experience. I don't even remember everything I said, but people told me they liked it. isn't that amazing? Prayer works!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">after church, we went over to our branch president's house for new year's lunch. we had a great time.... that family is so entertaining. they fed us to the brim! their oldest son is a pâtissier, so he brought some delicious hand-made chocolates. after the meal, we played a mormon trivia game from like the 1970's called "Zion" (the branch president brought it back with him from his mission). It was so funny. all the question cards were in english... it was fun for us to hear them read them outloud with their thick french accents. We had hot apple cider (a special american treat just for us) and then the branch president shared a spiritual thought from Roland's website! I was so proud.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">the work is going great... Clément is ready to go! We can't WAIT for his baptism on saturday. this will be my first real french person baptism!! pray that it all goes smoothly!</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">exchanges with Soeur Didier!</span></span>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">with Axel, Chris and Maria's little boy, on christmas eve</span></span>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-70829725431745877642011-12-26T05:02:00.000-08:002011-12-26T05:02:47.076-08:00oh, quel bonheur.<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'courier new', monospace; font-size: x-large;">joyeux noel!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">what fun it was to see your faces and talk to you on skype. the kids look so grown up! it was a perfect christmas present.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">this week was a whirlwind. we had exchanges with the Nogent soeurs, Soeur Didier and Soeur Sabatino. Sister exchanges are super complicated in this mission.... It took a total of nearly ten hours of train time to get there and back and there and back again! It was such fun, though, to work with Soeur Didier for a day. We had a miracle happen our first night in Nogent:</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Soeur Didier and Soeur Sabatino had received an online referral of a woman named Hilde. We took the hour-long bus ride out to pass by her house and meet her. She was home (miracle #1), she let us in (miracle #2), and she was really interested (miracle #3)! She told us about how she had met with Sister missionaries a few years ago, but then she moved and lost contact. She talked about how she had researched a whole bunch of Christian churches but was never satisfied. She said the first time she prayed with the Sister missionaries, an indescribable feeling swept over her, and she just felt so good. We gave her a "Joy to the World" dvd and fixed a return appointment. She said she would read some chapters in the Book of Mormon beforehand and prepare a list of questions to discuss. um, GOLDEN! Soeur Didier and I hopped and skipped away from the apartment building. Such a lovely Christmas exchange miracle.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Soeur Larsen and I had a picture-perfect missionary christmas. On Christmas Eve, we had dinner at Chris and Maria's house. Chris is from the Congo, so we had a full-on African dinner! (including fish with the heads still on them... I was horrified when he brought those out! he had fun teasing me and scaring me with them :) ) it was really fun, and so nice of them to invite us. Afterwards, we went home, put on our Christmas Eve pajamas, and made a little "couch fort". We read "A Christmas Dress for Ellen" (aka cried our eyes out) and then watched the Joseph Smith movie in our fort. I know, i know... a very missionary christmas!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Christmas day, we woke up, opened gifts, then headed to church for sacrament meeting. There were probably only 20 people there... it was really fun. Afterwards, we headed over to the Gatay family for lunch. This is what we ate:</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Crackers & cheese with fake cocktails</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">shrimp and smoked salmon</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">(they were nice and let soeur larsen and i eat foie gras instead)</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">creamed ham and mushroom ramekin- things</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">(i don't know the name of it)</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">after all that, Frère Gatay informed us the appetizers were over.</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">oh boy.</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">then:</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">roasted chicken with gravy,</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">potatoes, and green beans</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">and of course, a bûche de noel with fake champagne.</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I felt like i was going to pass out... they fed us to the brim! They also gave us each a little pile of gifts. And then, of course, i got to talk to YOU! santa claus was very good to me this year.</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"></span> </div><div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: x-large;">a happy & joyful new year to all!</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: x-large;"></span> </div><div align="left" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: x-large;">little mish.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-25959709668025764872011-12-19T06:35:00.000-08:002011-12-19T06:35:22.597-08:00a happy surprise.<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #666600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em><strong>bonjour<span style="color: #cc0000;">!</span></strong></em></span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Friday night was the Blois Branch Christmas Spectacle. Throughout the week, Soeur Larsen and I distributed 300 invitations in the neighborhoods surrounding our church building. The members all invited their nonmember friends and family. The night of the spectacle came, and there were 14 non-members there! That might sound like a small number, but it was huge to us. It was a smashing success! The young women/men and primary children put on a miniature version of "A Christmas Carol".... it was adorable. There was a buffet afterwards and we mingled and talked. Out of those 300 invitations we distributed, we had ONE woman come! Her name is Isabelle. She lives on the same street as the church, and has always been curious about us. She figured the spectacle was a perfect opportunity to come and check it out! The members took her right under their wing. She left with a Book of Mormon and an invitation to come to church.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Sunday rolled around, and she walked into Relief Society right at 9:00! It was a happy surprise. She stayed for all three hours and seemed very interested. She's a non-practicing Catholic (like usual), so when we had a sunday school lesson on how we were created in the image of God, meaning God has a body like us, she was a little confused. Other than that, she seemed really interested! Christmas miracle.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We went to see Alexandra and Kevin on Saturday night. We walked into their apartment, and they had a friend over. Alex turned to her and said, "ask the missionaries the questions you were asking me earlier. they can help you." So her friend started asking questions about who God is, where we go after we die, etc. At one point, we pulled out the Book of Mormon to read a scripture to her. Alex jumped up and grabbed her copy then said to her friend, "you're going to like this. whatever you have a problem with, this book can help you." We have the best investigators ever! When we got up to leave, the three of them were getting ready to read Alma 32 and 2 Nephi 4 together. I have never had an investigator who spends their Saturday night reading the Book of Mormon with their friends!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">life is good.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">christmas magic is in the air,</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">and miracles are happening in blois.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000;">joyeux</span> <span style="color: #666600;">noel</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">!</span></strong></em></span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><strong><em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></em></strong> </div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love,</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia;">.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oqomX5p84NxtbxUtf3arbAkT-Haz8k7cNes2TkivG3K2Wf4wAnBLK7reAxJxH8kS_RCjxt4uvxYey_Keo197lvjz05mSejfNPWVM72jYTXBFe4a7sb67aM5_THLrYyPElrokd2NKLuk/s1600/DSCN2907%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oqomX5p84NxtbxUtf3arbAkT-Haz8k7cNes2TkivG3K2Wf4wAnBLK7reAxJxH8kS_RCjxt4uvxYey_Keo197lvjz05mSejfNPWVM72jYTXBFe4a7sb67aM5_THLrYyPElrokd2NKLuk/s320/DSCN2907%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">with kevin, alex, and kyllian</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfoWlEv-8pwtZGloIQ93mgFDE5sjaWoGddo4LvBmX0gUzKco0l2vzDwQnl7hJ0bBxpkfJy-g2dZGRXagVN8Fo0sfgOsvpLcArg8-slLeu1oiNPj0AHWX_aGWbLYj8vyrAdqje8fcn-iM/s1600/DSCN2916%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfoWlEv-8pwtZGloIQ93mgFDE5sjaWoGddo4LvBmX0gUzKco0l2vzDwQnl7hJ0bBxpkfJy-g2dZGRXagVN8Fo0sfgOsvpLcArg8-slLeu1oiNPj0AHWX_aGWbLYj8vyrAdqje8fcn-iM/s320/DSCN2916%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">the blois château</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNIZ0ImlSFtFec8K3e9yEGyOec9NbdVa5hnBS_ypBqIE40kc0zjPlcmNvue2Ab_yRIIZR7n2Jzlsze0B7XX88x1KpN7qqp8IXTy9z9hAi0bQzEgW_mdFkeJtO2mLNmGDKmJC2nLqhyphenhyphenYc/s1600/DSCN2911%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNIZ0ImlSFtFec8K3e9yEGyOec9NbdVa5hnBS_ypBqIE40kc0zjPlcmNvue2Ab_yRIIZR7n2Jzlsze0B7XX88x1KpN7qqp8IXTy9z9hAi0bQzEgW_mdFkeJtO2mLNmGDKmJC2nLqhyphenhyphenYc/s320/DSCN2911%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">With Alexandra, Soeur Larsen, and Kyllian in the background</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPbuXmGdPo-C2BHoWUjBQw8D3_TZIhPjKUwLg9nV_PQ4X1-Y-xtkXTw2vtrWXTx03KVE20LMKSNP4noz2_koyNbfdwIGb-TS3-RBUW0T0bhqJjXrTul52DaPnyzaW_-tDicj3IkYDcmbk/s1600/DSCN2918%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPbuXmGdPo-C2BHoWUjBQw8D3_TZIhPjKUwLg9nV_PQ4X1-Y-xtkXTw2vtrWXTx03KVE20LMKSNP4noz2_koyNbfdwIGb-TS3-RBUW0T0bhqJjXrTul52DaPnyzaW_-tDicj3IkYDcmbk/s320/DSCN2918%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">pretty cathedral.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmFgieYO5ujoOOyeJYLu7iLxpKJ2fcZ9Qi50Q6LClxduS0dJYgMdyk-iNIKQ99AGTrmT69paYIqQby-2ppF78As8uTRuAPg4uTXA1SEvaUFXikE0rxR2y_40in6HwAFbe5Y6pYcFO8M0/s1600/DSCN2929%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmFgieYO5ujoOOyeJYLu7iLxpKJ2fcZ9Qi50Q6LClxduS0dJYgMdyk-iNIKQ99AGTrmT69paYIqQby-2ppF78As8uTRuAPg4uTXA1SEvaUFXikE0rxR2y_40in6HwAFbe5Y6pYcFO8M0/s320/DSCN2929%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">the entrance to the christmas market</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-44085064947679354312011-12-12T06:15:00.000-08:002011-12-13T02:54:59.545-08:00those women which laboured in the gospel.<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>bonjour!</em></span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we taught Raphael this week. i believe i've talked about him before. he's about our age and he's VERY catholic. it's weird. hardly anyone around here is a practicing catholic, and if they are, they're usually older. he makes for a very interesting investigator! we started talking about prophets and commandments. he said he believes we don't need commandments because we have the Holy Ghost that tells us what we need to do. I had a strong impression come into my mind to talk about the Word of Wisdom, but he's a big talker and I couldn't get a word in. Out of the corner of my eye, i spotted Soeur Larsen fiddling with her scriptures. I looked over and she had opened to the Word of Wisdom section in the Doctrine and Covenants! Right then, Raphael paused and I started explaining that commandments, in addition to the holy ghost, are given to us for our protection. I explained that if you were drunk, you would not be able to feel or understand the Holy Ghost. That's one of the reasons we have the Word of Wisdom. He understood and told us he would keep reading the Book of Mormon to find his answer. Afterwards, Soeur Larsen and I talked about the little experience. She had had the same thought come into her head!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we also had our Christmas zone conference this week in Angers. The Assistants had called us two days beforehand and asked us to do the musical number. Pressure! We ended up doing "Breath of Heaven". I played and Soeur Larsen sang. It turned out pretty good! It was a really fun conference... they gave each companionship a stocking with a letter from home and a jar of nutella, president and soeur poznanski each spoke to us, then at the end we all had hot chocolate & cookies and exchanged white elephant gifts. I got a bag of M&Ms... Tasted like home :)</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we taught Alexandra and Kévin this week as well. we love them. they have a long way to go (they live together and they both smoke), but the progress they've made is amazing. they both love the Book of Mormon (Kévin is in 1 Nephi 17... he told us he posted it as one of his favorite books on Facebook!) and the gospel principles manual. They have made leaps and bounds. We don't have to ask them to turn off the television anymore, and they never smoke around us. I love watching how the gospel changes people!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">a few days ago, i was having a rough day. During my personal studies, I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to let me know He was there. I finished praying and "Philippians" came into my mind. I turned to Philippians, and i came across this verse :</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> "And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life." ch. 4, v. 3.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Clement is the name of our baptismal date! I knew then that Heavenly Father was aware of us and our "labors in the gospel". I love the scriptures. </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> love from the loire.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>little mish.</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">check out this fun video Lindsay sent:</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzzqpe5Ir5fWMDAYmFhKzGoIsL6eddbD3F0ap8qcnUScwSkznhtbmyqRJUoPjbtOdNMYV-jLPrhu4LzFts5Tg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAR6DUZaMUuBTX7bmkkCZpLsTmmdYH6M9epSaMXLI0dx7OrzyRiGyE3R5KWz5QVnG893AfW8WsjPhVc0tJiVs2e_axN0jezlR5h4duhg52R3yOuJzqIOhQnxfM7Jmmd34JHHM5NqV-3w/s1600/DSCN2894%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAR6DUZaMUuBTX7bmkkCZpLsTmmdYH6M9epSaMXLI0dx7OrzyRiGyE3R5KWz5QVnG893AfW8WsjPhVc0tJiVs2e_axN0jezlR5h4duhg52R3yOuJzqIOhQnxfM7Jmmd34JHHM5NqV-3w/s320/DSCN2894%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">when Alexandra and Kevin found out that Soeur Larsen and I had made a christmas tree out of paper and stuck it to our wall, they immediately gave us this little guy.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpr-e8eBwxR9yrcBmwfW-H4llahudLvu_nWoEFSEa6LD2BCBfymj9A7m5rMSrSVT_IgTsmDaViQVOIkd3PzgwNLGuMVumUsMKR0SI_ljpor2_bWh2-Cezui8N2xXDJNrj4wKK1vJAEUQ/s1600/DSCN2898%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpr-e8eBwxR9yrcBmwfW-H4llahudLvu_nWoEFSEa6LD2BCBfymj9A7m5rMSrSVT_IgTsmDaViQVOIkd3PzgwNLGuMVumUsMKR0SI_ljpor2_bWh2-Cezui8N2xXDJNrj4wKK1vJAEUQ/s320/DSCN2898%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">with Kyllian, Alexandra's son. we love him. </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">(and no i didn't dye my hair... don't know why it looks so dark!)</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNF7u1EcIGbCEPyhE0gP0RPolJATAp4AzCsJLzmbUwiPIPEZv6GH-knb4Hl4HNGMLdxoqAa1ShClX4VmKA033C4oeALwpg8wYJfo6ec6MUky3LY3czq1qxWMxGKapievIfAK7O_p04378/s1600/DSCN2890%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNF7u1EcIGbCEPyhE0gP0RPolJATAp4AzCsJLzmbUwiPIPEZv6GH-knb4Hl4HNGMLdxoqAa1ShClX4VmKA033C4oeALwpg8wYJfo6ec6MUky3LY3czq1qxWMxGKapievIfAK7O_p04378/s320/DSCN2890%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">my dieter drawing :) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">(sorry it's blurry... the camera WOULD NOT focus on it)</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-28347123799233877822011-12-05T11:54:00.000-08:002011-12-05T11:55:34.295-08:00a beautiful perspective.<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><em style="color: #cc9933; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: xx-large;"><strong>Blois is covered in twinkle lights.</strong></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I thought our little town couldn't get any more charming, and then they go and get out the twinkle lights. It looks so magical at night time! And they're setting up the Marché de Noel (Christmas Market) in the square next to the library. Soeur Larsen and I made a Christmas tree out of paper and stuck it to our wall.... we're pretty proud of it. It is the most wonderful time of the year, isn't it?</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzhMCg8mOHAfPAt55Wx93dLi4WBuM6nMIQEcgwGSEU6EzEpZoQUyrXLXiLxY7p9zX0M_yEGoG71ZNbLUluObg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>{sorry this video is sideways... that's how she sent it and I don't know how to fix it!}</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The work is going really well. Things are moving forward and progressing quite nicely! We had a rendez-vous with Clément this week to review the Plan of Salvation. I have a little Plan of Salvation chart I made in the MTC with all the steps that velcro on to a big sheet of paper. We took all the pieces off and mixed them up and had him put them back on in order. Like a little kid. Soeur Larsen, his wife, and I had fun watching him do it :) He did it perfectly! We talked about it afterwards and he kept saying that it is such a beautiful perspective to have. He's like every missionary's dream investigator. We love teaching him. He's getting excited for his baptism on January 7th!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Maria is doing good as well. We went to see her this week and she had dark circles under her eyes. She explained that her 4 month-old daughter has been mixing up her days and nights and hadn't slept for the past few nights, meaning Maria hadn't slept either. She has an 18 month-old son as well, so she just couldn't catch a break. We felt so terrible. We said a prayer with her and asked Heavenly Father to help her little girl sleep at night. Her baby has been sleeping through the night ever since! I love that Heavenly Father helps us with even the little things.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The other day, Soeur Larsen and I were on the bus. We were sitting apart from each other so we could talk to the people who sat next to us. The bus was empty except for the two of us... our plan was not working very well. I prayed that Heavenly Father would send someone nice to sit down next to me. A few minutes later, a woman got on the bus and sat herself down right next to me! We started talking about this and that. She told me a little bit of her life story and I told her about why I was in France. I ended up giving her a Book of Mormon before we parted ways, and she gave us her phone number. Prayer works!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from the loire.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #cc9933; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em><strong>little mish.</strong></em></span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oQcd-yWrp_o4BScSFFiFjsZtBGhHGX8WMR_o4HTHmt3kmddfrF_wZqeSmL8Q5S2x95Ucc-DFk7Yq3wq-FYkx3SzKPdUmO_AmTnKK_R_SRHgXv8IgvVE2d1ezMU53kvKi9wDbOecfoVc/s1600/DSCN2836%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oQcd-yWrp_o4BScSFFiFjsZtBGhHGX8WMR_o4HTHmt3kmddfrF_wZqeSmL8Q5S2x95Ucc-DFk7Yq3wq-FYkx3SzKPdUmO_AmTnKK_R_SRHgXv8IgvVE2d1ezMU53kvKi9wDbOecfoVc/s320/DSCN2836%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Château de Cheverny.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO2o4nTJa1zj7pnIuWiLRNZO-5A0B99QVP4TJbdQUBKX2mr89hJorzrePsrLMgtWoFKvnEJrPcDhNLvIx81_Vtsdc7GkegkbRTBQMHBvGppa76Xc5TfyymJM9ttcO8hGoIRSxlfo1nCM/s1600/DSCN2846%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO2o4nTJa1zj7pnIuWiLRNZO-5A0B99QVP4TJbdQUBKX2mr89hJorzrePsrLMgtWoFKvnEJrPcDhNLvIx81_Vtsdc7GkegkbRTBQMHBvGppa76Xc5TfyymJM9ttcO8hGoIRSxlfo1nCM/s320/DSCN2846%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Thanksgiving with the Elders.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwxxNZwNFxJkXRDc6etkdeLRjmQqnE4ZGFLNLSrFKQ5cMEURnTL2uuOcHOPXLkRCXTm-HPbAw-MBPl05Kfyu7i7NY_9V4TuIVSyznAjXrjimdgr4BrL6e_ySA1z6rbCUwAwT8OYjjCKI/s1600/DSCN2853%255B1%255D-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwxxNZwNFxJkXRDc6etkdeLRjmQqnE4ZGFLNLSrFKQ5cMEURnTL2uuOcHOPXLkRCXTm-HPbAw-MBPl05Kfyu7i7NY_9V4TuIVSyznAjXrjimdgr4BrL6e_ySA1z6rbCUwAwT8OYjjCKI/s320/DSCN2853%255B1%255D-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">being silly.</span></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc9933; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em><strong><br />
</strong></em></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-52020169109647586262011-11-29T17:12:00.000-08:002011-11-29T17:12:40.134-08:00food stories.<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">In light of the Thanksgiving season, I thought I'd share some funny food experiences we had this week.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">On Thanksgiving night, we were invited to have dinner with our Branch President and his family. (they didn't know it was thanksgiving). So, we were all seated at the table, having a good time.... then she brought out the soup course. Soeur Larsen shares my dislike of fish, so the both of us were equally horrified when she told us it was scallop soup. I literally gulped it down, trying to swallow it fast before I could taste it. I thought that the worst was over. THEN. she brought out the main course: salmon quiche. Salmon quiche. I looked at it and thought, " okay. I can do this. there's probably more egg than there is salmon anyway." wrong. It was mostly salmon. I tried to tell myself it was chicken. I fought through that piece of quiche, trying not to visibly gag. The whole time, I was wishing my family could see me. But it is now official: I don't like salmon. That was pretty traumatic. :)</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Yesterday made up for my fishy Thanksgiving dinner. We went to Orléans and spent the day with our district: Elder Hayden, Elder Pieper, Elder Harevaa, Elder Dykstra, Elder Bjerga, and Elder Gunter. We made a Thanksgiving dinner for lunch! The Elders brought five little rotisserie chickens (buying a turkey wasn't realistic. But the chickens were from a Turkish butcher, so that counts!), and we had mashed potatoes and stuffing. Soeur Larsen and I brought dessert. Canned pumpkin doesn't exist here, so we went to the Farmer's market and bought a real pumpkin! After being cooked and mashed, it made beautiful pumpkin pies. We served it with home made whipped cream... I thought Richard would be so proud :) Afterwards, we all went to a school soccer field and played some American football. It was a nice little taste of home.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Saturday night, we were invited to have dinner with a family in our branch. We got there, and literally half the branch was there! We all sat around a big, long table and talked and laughed. The family who had us over is from La Réunion (it's an island.... is it just called The Reunion in English?), so the food was crazy. At one point, he brought out a gigantic cast iron pot and set it in front of Soeur Larsen and I. We peered over the edge and saw it was full of shrimp. With their tentacles still attached. We looked at each other in terror. But then he brought out a different, non-fishy dish, so it was okay. They served spicy, piment-y fruit for dessert... weird! It was really fun though. This branch feels like my family. Soeur Larsen and I both sat back a little bit and watched everyone banter and laugh, and it was just the best. At the end, we shared a spiritual thought. We talked about how it was Thanksgiving last week in the States and how it's a special time of year for us. We then went around the table and had each person say something they were grateful for. Everyone said something different. When it came to Clément, our baptismal date, he talked about how grateful he was that he found the church. That's what every missionary wants to hear!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ff6600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: large;"><em>i am grateful for</em></span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">family & friends</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">the book of mormon</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">my mission</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">france</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">our investigators</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">my companion</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">the gospel</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">our prophet</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">my life.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from the loire.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-24313503171076867532011-11-21T06:07:00.000-08:002011-11-21T06:07:02.233-08:00o how great the goodness of our God.<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;"><em>bonjour</em></span>.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">gotta love the information age... My family found out about my week before I got to write my email about it! So funny. Anyway. yes, we had a major plumbing problem in our apartment this week.... I'll spare you the (disgusting) details. Let's just say we were without a toilet and a shower. We talked to President and he told us to pack our bags and head over to the Ferreiras, a couple in our Branch. They are the BEST. He is Portuguese, and she's half Portuguese, half French. He's paralyzed from the waist down, so he cruises around the house in a wheelchair. She is literally like four feet tall- just barely taller than him while seated in his chair. Thus, their house is miniature. Soeur Larsen and I are not at all what you would call tall, but we literally had to bend down to reach the handle to the front gate! We felt like we were in a little hobbit house. We stayed there for three nights, until finally a scary-looking plumber with a glass eye came and shot a power hose into our toilet. He came out and told us, with a satisfied smile on his face, that it was fixed. He left, and we went into the bathroom to check it out. He had left something black all over the toilet (enter: large quantities of bleach) but other than that, it worked! So there is the story of the homeless sister missionaries.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">the work in Blois is going really well. Maria is getting closer and closer to fixing a baptismal date! we're so excited. I have never seen an investigator with so many experiences with prayer. She is amazing. Her faith is so simple and strong and childlike. Last week, her boyfriend/father of her children (we're working on getting them married) left for like three days and she had no idea where he went. She doesn't have a cell phone, so she couldn't call him. She was all alone at their apartment with their two little kids and did not know what to do. She went to her window and prayed that Heavenly Father would send her Carole, a member in the branch who is friends with Maria. Minutes later, Carole and her husband showed up, having no idea of Maria's plight. Carole's husband sent out a mass text to us and the branch council asking us to pray for Maria. 10 minutes after that text was sent out, the boyfriend came home.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Fastforward a few days. Maria was outside, on her way to go grocery shopping. She had her little baby in a snuggly and her toddler in a stroller. The elevator at their apartment building was broken, so she had to go down six flights of stairs carrying her two children and the stroller. She didn't know how she was going to get her two kids and the groceries back up the six flights of stairs, so she prayed as she walked that she would run into the missionaries. She looked up and saw Soeur Larsen and I in the distance. She called after us. Within minutes, we had a member there to drive her back and help her back up the stairs to her apartment. I love how prayer works! Another cool sidenote: Soeur Larsen and I were walking to district meeting. We had let the Elders go ahead to the church because we had to run to the store. We left the store and that's when Maria called after us. If it had been any other day, we wouldn't have been there. If we hadn't gone to the store, we wouldn't have been there. Miracle.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We had a rendez-vous with Maria on Saturday. We brought the Book of Mormon edition of the Liahona to show her. I had the idea to read one of the little stories in the back, so I flipped to one and we read it outloud together. I had just glanced at it, but it turned out to be the perfect story for her! It talked about a young mother, which, she said, spoke to her. After the story, she told us she had been hearing the word "baptism" everywhere the previous week. The story had mentioned it at the end. She's not ready to set a date yet, but she has been thinking about it! We are so excited for her. She is so sweet. We just need to get them married, then they'll be ready to get in the water!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Big things are happening in Blois. Soeur Larsen and I are in awe of all the tender mercies and miracles we have witnessed. As it says in the Book of Mormon,</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>"O how great the goodness of our God."</em></span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from the loire.<br />
little mish</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-46237853335895727382011-11-14T05:32:00.000-08:002011-11-14T05:32:22.134-08:00twenty.<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">what a week.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we went to paris on thursday for zone conference with Elder Kopischke and it was incredible. He is a powerhouse. And his wife is the German version of Soeur Staheli... She had us all stand and sing "I am a Child of God" as she conducted us with a big smile on her face. :) anyway. He talked about so many things and the spirit was so strong. At one point in the conference, he told us he wanted each companionship to go find a quiet place somewhere in the church building and pray and discuss a goal for the number of baptisms we want to have by the end of the year. As he was talking, a number popped into my head: 20. TWENTY. It freaked me out. Twenty?? I've only had three baptisms my whole mission! The number stuck in my head. Soeur Larsen and I went and discussed it. She said she had had a number come into her head too, but the number was big and that scared her. We told each other our numbers and they were within 3 of each other. We prayed and we really felt like that is the Lord's vision for Blois. We were in a daze the rest of the day, trying not to freak out about how in the world we are going to do this. We knew that we needed to set our sights higher, so we did. We told our branch about it and we got an outpouring of support. We have seen many little miracles since that day, like Kevin and Alexandra.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I don't know if I've mentioned them yet or not, but they are great. We've been teaching them for a few weeks now. He is from Guadeloupe, and she's French. They live together (we'll be taking care of that!) and she has a 6 year old son named Killian. They love us, they read the Book of Mormon, and they enjoy the lessons. But we have not been able to get them to come to church! They CANNOT get up on time. It's like, impossible for them. But, miracle of miracles, we got them to wake up and come yesterday! (it may or may not have involved us ringing their doorbell a LOT at 8 in the morning....) It was so so good. They really liked it and participated in the lessons. We went and talked to Alex about it after church and she said she had never seen so many people with so much faith. We're so excited about them.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I know that maybe we won't get twenty baptisms. But it's been so cool to watch how things are changing around here because we caught a glimpse of the Lord's vision for Blois. It's going to be an exciting end to the year....</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from the loire.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div><div><br />
</div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-49045665334414815262011-11-07T07:49:00.001-08:002011-11-07T07:49:45.718-08:00a very important date.<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em><strong>favorite things that happened this week.</strong></em></span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">1. <strong>We set a baptismal date with Clément!</strong> It was so so good. We came into the rendez-vous and asked him if he remembered what we asked him to do last time. He said, "you asked me to think about a date for my baptism." My heart started beating fast. He said he had thought about it a lot, and the date he felt good about was the 7th of January. It's a little further away than we'd like, but we'll take it! He looked so happy and peaceful. We can't wait!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We then read the story of Jesus walking on water in the Bible. We related the story to him: Like Peter, if he doesn't keep his eyes on the Lord, he will start to sink. Beautiful image, isn't it? We just told him to keep his chin up and don't look down :)</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">2. Last night, we went over to the Liebard family's house. They are an AWESOME member family. We had crêpes with chestnut cream and talked about our amis with them. The Liebard's have two young sons, Victor and Augustin. Victor was just ordained a deacon yesterday and he is the only deacon in the branch. They are such sweet boys. Every time we see one of them, they ask us about the missionary work and whether or not we're going to have a baptism soon. So cute.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So last night, we asked those boys to help us. They were practically bouncing off the couch! We told them to pray with faith every day that we would be able to find a family to teach with boys their age. We promised we would do our part and work really hard, but we needed their help. They were SO excited to be a part of the missionary work! As we were leaving, I shook Victor's hand and he said, "We can do this. I have faith." I love the pure faith of little children.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">3. We had a rendez-vous with Chris & Maria on Saturday night. They're so good. He's African and she's French-Italian. Their kids are gorgeous. Anyway, we talked about the Restoration and Priesthood authority. We both felt impressed to talk about baptism, so we read a scripture in 2 Nephi with them and invited them to be baptized. We don't have a date fixed yet with them, but the spirit was strong, and they came to church for all three hours the next day. I love little families!</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">4. Another ami of ours, Alexandra, had us over for lunch this week. Alex is from the "campagne"-- the countryside. She told us about growing up in a tiny French village.... it sounded so charming. Her "mami" would take her into the forest and teach her how to pick out good mushrooms, and they would take an oil lamp with them in case it got too dark. Seriously. France is just too dang cute.</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em><strong>love from the loire valley.</strong></em></span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">amour,</span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">la petite missionnaire.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-50549144725715226462011-10-31T12:02:00.000-07:002011-10-31T12:02:44.671-07:00cast not away therefore your confidence.<div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">bonjour from blois!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">on wednesday, we had a rendez-vous with Clément. I don't know if I've talked about him yet, but he is awesome. He has been dating a member for two years and they just got married in August. He's been coming to church for most of those two years, but he isn't baptized yet. He knows the church is true, but he's the afraid-of-commitment type. He comes to church every week in a suit, white shirt, and tie. The first time we saw him, we thought he was a member! And he doesn't look French at all. He's big and tall like a football player. He's sweet.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Anyway, Soeur Larsen and I have had him on our minds constantly, trying to figure out what we can do and say to help him get baptized. We came up with lots of illustrations of his situation. Our favorite: it's like he's at a feast, but he won't eat because he doesn't want to have to do the dishes. This man needs to be a member! We prayed a LOT before our rendez-vous with him. As I was doing my personal studies that day, I thought about the moment I decided to go on a mission. My mom looked at me and said, "Cast not away therefore your confidence." those words rang through my mind as I sat at my desk. I immediately opened my bible and flipped to the scripture. this is what I found:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.</span></em></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.</span></em></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.</span></em></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.</span></em></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.</span></em></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It was perfect for Clément! We had him read those verses during the rendez-vous and they hit him really hard. We both testified about doing the will of the Lord, even when we're scared or feel inadequate. We were bold and upfront and told him to think about a date he would like to fix for his baptism, and we would talk about it the next rendez-vous. He agreed. We're going to see him again on Wednesday!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We spent the day in Paris on Thursday; it was so lovely to be back. We had a fantastic training by Elder and Sister Gonzàlez. They were so cute and happy! It was weird to hear a training in English. He talked about the promise that was made to the members of the church in Europe that if we have a concentrated effort between members and missionaries, we can DOUBLE the membership here! We're so excited about that. That would just be amazing. It made us want to work that much harder! And yes, it was terrifying to play the hardest piano piece I've ever played in front of a general authority. But, I survived :)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Yesterday evening, we were walking home from a member's house. We started talking to an old woman who was standing on the sidewalk in front of her house. She was adorable. She told us she had been living in her house since 1946, back when that part of Blois was all fields. She showed us her house and her crazy detailed cross stitching she did when she was younger. We tried talking to her about church, but I don't think she understood. It was so fun to talk to someone who had been living in Blois for 70 years!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">As we were leaving her house, we came across a dirt path that cut across a field. We decided to take the shortcut. As we were walking across the field with the rolling hills and forests spread out before us, and the sun setting on the horizon, casting a warm glow on the yellow leaves, I turned to Soeur Larsen and said, "shouldn't we be wearing empire-waist dresses right now?" we talked about whether Mr. Bingley would be at the ball until we got to the end of the pathway. It's nice to have a companion who will talk in british accents with me. Anyway. Moral of the story: I adore the French countryside.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">and.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">i adore my mission.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">amour,</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKozySrtEXaRzel8v_90uo9tH1Flmf-bk1C0fP9UIHkEn0bPFMd349W003lfAs4IvO7XmPOh12Dent9FXsud6ZdJzhCjeKpXjOryqgTR6OgDGT6qh49VUez4MWETFrHDvwyShIUQCs8Qk/s1600/DSCN9630%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKozySrtEXaRzel8v_90uo9tH1Flmf-bk1C0fP9UIHkEn0bPFMd349W003lfAs4IvO7XmPOh12Dent9FXsud6ZdJzhCjeKpXjOryqgTR6OgDGT6qh49VUez4MWETFrHDvwyShIUQCs8Qk/s320/DSCN9630%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">i adore blois!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOQ6IIARtjmJJJNcdRYNT-2XpqZBUEjl_t5jZ7amVkg_zGiDV76gcwLA-o53O6n28jJAhG24pzwqPfaxgQKliU-yHXv52UB8IqAeI7gXxlU3YVntK_WKsFWtvKoBhFCQUasr2aPDk0ao/s1600/DSCN9658%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOQ6IIARtjmJJJNcdRYNT-2XpqZBUEjl_t5jZ7amVkg_zGiDV76gcwLA-o53O6n28jJAhG24pzwqPfaxgQKliU-yHXv52UB8IqAeI7gXxlU3YVntK_WKsFWtvKoBhFCQUasr2aPDk0ao/s320/DSCN9658%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">cute Soeur Larsen and i...</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">we love being together again!</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-45670551346110008482011-10-24T05:39:00.000-07:002011-10-24T05:39:15.651-07:00one year.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div align="center" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #999900; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><em><strong>one year.</strong></em></span></div><div align="center" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">top ten moments of my first year as a missionary.</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">1. the paris temple announcement</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">2. Anbu's baptism</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">3. Zdravko's franglish prayers</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">4. the moment i realized i could carry on a conversation in french</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">5. teaching Beauty about temples with Soeur England</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">6. Philomene's baptism</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">7. Christiane's english ("i love you, me too, too much!")</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">and her adorable kids</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">8. having to gulp down really gross food-</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">not funny in the moment, but funny afterwards.</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">9. really good food-</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">it's the reward for all the really gross food.</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">10. putting my tag on everyday</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">and talking to strangers about the gospel.</span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">of course, there are thousands and thousands more of moments and experiences over the past year that have been defining, amazing, and life-changing. It would be impossible to write them all down. it has been an incredible year!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">sometimes mission life is so crazy, all you can do is laugh. on tuesday, soeur larsen and i made the trip to paris for my doctor appointment. the doctor gave me a shot in my ankle and told me to try not to walk. we got back to Blois that night and started the 15 minute walk from the train station to our apartment. I was walking like a 90 year-old woman.... VERYslowly. we were limping along our merry way when a torrential downpour of rain descended upon us...we were soaked through in minutes. Of <em>course</em> the only day it has rained since we arrived here was the day I could barely walk! we laughed at the irony as we got wetter and wetter walking at a snail's pace back to the apartment.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">this week has been awesome. on saturday we went to see Chris and Maria, a young married couple. they have two kids: Axel is 17 months and Exaucée is 3 months. The rendez-vous was a little crazy with the little kids, but the spirit was so strong. Chris is familiar with the church.. he was taught by the missionaries about a year ago. They were both so humble and open and accepting. We are so excited about them! Maria came to church yesterday with her little baby girl and the whole branch just fawned over them. I love having such a rockstar branch :)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">life is good.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">love from blois</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8547489825428380583.post-6526408585578428762011-10-17T06:24:00.000-07:002011-10-17T06:26:28.947-07:00heaven is a tiny french village.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div align="center" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><i><span style="color: #999900; font-size: x-large;">10 little things that make me terribly happy:</span></i></b></span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">blois edition.</span></i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></i></b></span></div><div align="center" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">1. to get to the train station from our apartment, you walk down our street and turn right at the castle.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">not kidding.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">2. the mailmen deliver the mail on yellow bikes.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">3. trees and fall leaves everywhere.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">4. the twinkle lights strung between the trees in the little town park</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">5. the boulangerie on the corner called "the golden croissant"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">6. there is a shoe cobbler shop on our street.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">7. they play an audiobook in the park on sunday nights</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">8. our little branch of 50 members</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">9. the accent. their "r"s are much more round here than in paris. love.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">10. if i had a basket with a book in it, i would totally feel like Belle everyday.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">yes, Blois is exactly as ideal as it sounds. after a less-than-ideal arrival (we had to switch trains in the middle of our journey and the Big Strong Elder who helped us load our luggage on the train was not there anymore. We had literally 5 minutes to take our 6 suitcases that weighed 5,000 lbs each down two flights of stairs and up two flights of stairs. We could only lift one at a time. We were literally throwing suitcases on the train as the conductor blew the whistle, but we made it!) anyway. Blois is tiny, which has been an adjustment. my mission has turned me into a city girl! I adjusted quite quickly, though. how can you not when you live in a perfect French village? Seriously. This is a dream. There are trees everywhere, hilly cobblestone streets, and the beautiful Loire river. Everyone says "bonjour" to us.... so friendly! It's lovely.</span></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Not only is the town beautiful, but the branch is AMAZING. we are the first Soeurs in Blois for over 10 years, so we got a hero's welcome into the branch :) The members are so excited to have us. It's nice to feel so loved! Yesterday in sacrament meeting they asked Soeur Larsen and I to "present ourselves". pretty sure both of us got up there and cried about how much we love French people. I'm ridiculous. I just can't seem to get over how much I love it here. I love the people so much. The branch is super small, about 50 members all together. It's like a family.... all of the members know our investigators and are like, best friends with them. It's every missionary's dream.</span></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Speaking of investigators, we are so excited about them! We have one, Clément, who is on the brink of baptism. He is what we missionaries call a "solid ami". He's about 25 and he's newly married to a member. We had heard all about him, so we were excited to see him. We had our branch mission leader point him out to us yesterday and we could not believe our eyes. He was in a suit, white shirt, and tie! He commented on the missionary minute! He looked like a member! We are so excited for him. He knows the church is true, knows the doctrine backward and forward, reads the Book of Mormon everyday, but he's afraid to commit. We can't wait to work with him. There are so many exciting things happening here, and Soeur Larsen and I get to witness them firsthand! It really is incredible.</span></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Love from the Loire valley.</span></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">little mish.</span></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0