Coucou! This week I'm afraid the email will be another quick one, as France has decided to have yet ANOTHER holiday. Which means that Soeur Johnson and I have trekked all over this lovely area of ours searching for an open computer place, and we finally ended up in Paris. Everything is going just swell for us over here. We got transfer news this week and guess what? I am staying in Melun! And guess what else? I am training! Both pieces of news are frightening and exciting to me. I am glad I am training, I think it will give me an extra push to work harder. She may or may not be nineteen years old (I will find out when I meet her this Wednesday) so it will sort of be like being with Naomi on a mission, right? I can only hope :) Extra prayers would be appreciated this week, especially as I think of being the one in charge of navigating the hundreds of buses and trains. Wish me luck. They also changed all of the zones and districts. There are so many missionaries coming in it is crazy! I have an entirely different district, and am in a new zone called 'Paris Sud'. The best news is that Soeur Hill got transfered to Evry, which means that she will only be a ville over and we can have Pdays in Paris ensemble! So happy.
This week we headed back up to Belgium and our train didn't break down! It was one of the loveliest days ever. My MTC Elders and I just spent the whole day talking and laughing and eating waffles. I LOVE Belgium. I really would love to serve there one day. We had to do legality which took about five minutes, and the rest of the day we got some food and went to Grande Place. As we were on the train ride back I realized that my face hurt from smiling so much. Such a great day with some of my bestest friends. So at the MTC we had this joke about Lord of the Rings and we would quote the end of it when Frodo is at the end of all things and he says "I can't recall the taste of strawberries." So Elder Barr and I shared a waffle with strawberries on it and I said without even thinking about it "I have missed this. I had forgotten the taste of strawberries." Full circle moment. And I thought you would be happy to know that the Lord of the Rings parallels continue!
This week we taught our fave Petula and watched Finding Faith in Christ together. It is the first time she had ever heard of or seen the miracles that Christ performed and it was like we were watching the Bourne Ultimatum or something, the way she reacted. Jesus heals the blind guy? Gasps and clapping. Jesus raises Lazurus? "Ah BON?! C'est pas vrai!" It was one of my favorite moments on my mission. Just seeing how completely excited she was about it. And after the movie, she just talked about how touched she was by it, especially the phrase "Thy faith hath made thee whole." I love that phrase so much. That faith is not just a feeling, but a power. Petula and her kids were supposed to come to church, but it didn't work out this Sunday (Blasted daylight savings time!) And we have had a bit of a dryspell of amis coming to church, so keep her in your prayers that we will be able to make that happen!
We went over to a family's house for Easter dinner yesterday, and it was such a blast. They are the most adorable family and have the neatest story. She was in school to become a nun when she found the church. She converted, was disowned by her family, and then served a mission in this very mission. They have four beautiful children, and one of them is my new BFF. His name is Maxime and he is four years old, and I don't know how I did it but he was smitten with me. It was HILARIOUS. I have never had someone gaze at me with so much love. He sat right next to me at dinner and did not stop talking to me for TWO HOURS. About cars, about his nightmares, about how he can't afford to go on vacation, about how I should get a matching haircut. His Mom said to let you know that I have met someone who loves me unconditionally and that I might not be coming back to the States :) We had an Easter egg hunt too, and it was so classic. Maxime was running around with a look of determination muttering "je cherche, je cherche." And we got a GIANT Kinder surprise egg. Seriously as big as my head. If I have time next week I will send pictures.
Soeur Johnson is leaving and I am sad to see her go. We have been through a lot together ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .") and she is such a lovely friend and has taught me a lot. There is a lot of work to do in Melun, and sometimes I feel like I am going to be starting from square one this transfer. I am nervous but also know that with faith and hope and hard work we will see a lot of miracles in the next few months. This morning I was reading a talk by Sister Dalton, and I love something that she said. She talked about how she had a sign in her house that said "I can do hard things." For her talk she changed it to, "With the Lord, I can do all things." I am learning more and more that through the Lord we can do hard things. And not just hard things, but all things. I am always happier when I trust in God, and go and do, instead of doubting God, and lethargically going through the motions.
I have been thinking about you this week, and this morning when a plane flew overhead, I imagined you all on the beach in Coronado with planes flying over your heads too. Hope you have had a fun week at the beach. I love you and think of you often (slash most of the time, especially when something weird and hilarious happens and I want you to be right next to me laughing along with me) and am so thankful for you.
Bisous,
Olivia
No comments:
Post a Comment