my name is soeur williams, and i'm a mormon.

bonjour!

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!

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.

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.

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!

little mish.

we found this building in Blois... built in 1470!

 pictures from around town

the newest little fish in our pond.

Clément got baptized!

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.

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.

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 :) 

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.

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!

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. :)

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!

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!

love from the loire.

little mish.

waiting for the baptism to start!

Clement's baptism!

in downtown Blois

with chris and maria

our lovely macarons

our street... rue denis papin

a charming new year.

happy 2012!

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!

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!

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.

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!

love from the loire.

little mish.

a drawing i did as a christmas gift for a member.

exchanges with Soeur Didier!

with Axel, Chris and Maria's little boy, on christmas eve

 our christmas eve fort

 a cute shop window: "i am with you until the end of time"

oh, quel bonheur.

joyeux noel!

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.

 

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:

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.

 

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!

 

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:

 

Crackers & cheese with fake cocktails

shrimp and smoked salmon

(they were nice and let soeur larsen and i eat foie gras instead)

creamed ham and mushroom ramekin- things

(i don't know the name of it)

 

after all that, Frère Gatay informed us the appetizers were over.

oh boy.

then:

 

roasted chicken with gravy,

potatoes, and green beans

and of course, a bûche de noel with fake champagne.

 

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.

 

a happy & joyful new year to all!

 

little mish.

a happy surprise.

bonjour!

 

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.

 

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.

 

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!

 

life is good.

christmas magic is in the air,

and miracles are happening in blois.

 

joyeux noel!

 

love,

little mish.

with kevin, alex, and kyllian

the blois château

With Alexandra, Soeur Larsen, and Kyllian in the background

pretty cathedral.

the entrance to the christmas market

those women which laboured in the gospel.

bonjour!

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!

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 :)

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!

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 :

 "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.

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. 

 love from the loire.

little mish.

check out this fun video Lindsay sent:

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.

with Kyllian, Alexandra's son. we love him. 

(and no i didn't dye my hair... don't know why it looks so dark!)

my dieter drawing :) 
(sorry it's blurry... the camera WOULD NOT focus on it)

a beautiful perspective.

Blois is covered in twinkle lights.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?

{sorry this video is sideways... that's how she sent it and I don't know how to fix it!}

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!

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.

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!

love from the loire.

little mish.

Château de Cheverny.

Thanksgiving with the Elders.

being silly.