an american in paris: victor hugo, a bulgarian, and a translator.

talk about a perfect first week of the transfer.
saying goodbye to soeur pearce was hard, but soeur smith and i are so excited for the transfer ahead and we are having so much fun already. we had a perfect p day today... we went to the Panthéon and Luxembourg gardens with the évry soeurs. There are really creepy crypts beneath the Panthéon- we saw the tombs of Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Marie Curie. Upstairs, there's a 200 year-old pendulum swinging from the ceiling that proves the earth rotates. (Richard, I thought of you when I saw it!) After the évry soeurs left, Soeur Smith and I got a scoop of ice cream and sat on a bench looking over Luxembourg gardens. I know I've quoted this before, but I just can't help myself:

is there any felicity in the world comparable to this?
no, there is not. paris is perfect.

the best part of our first week together, however, is a man named Zdravko. He is from Bulgaria has been taking the lessons for three weeks, and on saturday he was baptized! we had an amazing week with him. There just happened to be a member who served his mission in Ukraine in town for the week, so he came and taught Zdravko with us on Thursday. He bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon in Russian and the Spirit just flooded the room. Soeur Smith and I were seriously open-mouthed in awe. Zdravko replied to his testimony by saying, "Everyday I go to work and I lift heavy beams and cement. But it feels like nothing because I know I am meeting with the missionaries that night." our lessons are very interesting language-wise. He speaks "Franglais", which is so entertaining. Teaching him reminds me a little of teaching Anbu, in that the lessons have to be SO simple so he understands. Zdravko is much more of an extrovert than Anbu, however. He has a big tuft of spiral ringlet hair, a booming santa claus laugh, and absolutely no guile. It's so endearing. I honestly don't think I can explain how hilarious he is and do it justice. Suffice it to say that his baptism was the most epic dunk I have ever seen. He did a colossal back bend, slammed into the water (spraying the cute little girls who were standing in front watching) and then popped right back up, wagging his lion-like mane of hair and smiling from ear to ear. After he dried off, he bore his testimony to the congregation. He said something to the effect of, "I don't know how old I am. Before today, I was 32, maybe 33. Now I think I am maybe 20 minutes old." He really felt like a new person. it was so sweet. And a wonderful way to start out the transfer! we are really lucky soeurs.

Sunday was interesting. We walked into Relief Society, which I was scared for because every week, I will have to translate in RS. I hold a microphone and translate the lesson into english. my voice is broadcasted into headsets in the congregation. Terrifying! I did okay. It was so weird though. There are three sunday schools: english, french, and chinese. At the end of the summer, they are going to add one in spanish. Sacrament meeting is given in english, then missionaries and members translate into english and chinese. It's such an international ward- lots of americans and a growing amount of chinese! It's really fun. And the church building itself is so gorgeous. I'm in heaven. (except for the translating part... THAT will take some getting used to!)

despite the silly ankle situation, life is wonderful. i love my mish life. i wouldn't have it any other way, even with this slight health hiccup. thank you for your prayers and concern.

avec tout mon amour,

little mish.