Bonjour!
Talking to you was exactly what I needed to recharge and restart this transfer. You are the best and I love you beyond words. After I got off Skype I walked in the other room and Soeur Egoshkin asked if I cried and then my eyes welled up and then her eyes welled up. And then we drank tea and talked about her favorite restaurants in Paris and it made me feel better. It is interesting—as a missionary you forget yourself and get to work and it is great, but there is always a little piece of my heart that feels like it is missing.You filled it up yesterday. Merci.
Romain showed up again in our missionary lives, and we had some great lessons with him. I have never seen somebody with a life like his. He is Job. Every time I hear something new I think, how is this possible? And then I read Job during my studies the next day and just kept on nodding my head thinking 'Yep, that's him.' Despite it all, he is searching and trying and he can really feel the difference when he talks to us. Also, when we invited him to be baptized he said that he wasn't sure if he could because he is involved in some things, and we were thinking oh no. And then he said "I am a reggae musician and sometimes I play at venues where people smoke. But I don't smoke, don't worry." We assured him that his music was just fine, and then he shared some great lyrics with us and taught us this Guadeloupe drum thing that we were terrible at. He isn't sure about baptism, but he has recognized the difference in his life. As we were leaving after the lesson about the Plan de Salut he said "So are you saying I can see my Mom again someday?" We replied that yes, families are eternal. And then he got this big grin and says "So WE will be eternal, because we are like a family too!" We love him. Our ex-pro soccer playing reggae musician Job.
We had a bit of a rough week. Worn out and really long. One day we were in this small ville outside of Melun and all of the sudden the heavens opened and it POURED. Like I have never seen rain in my life. And we were in this area where all the houses are gated, so people are not going to answer when it is raining like that. And so we sat under our umbrellas for a minute, until that wasn't even doing anything. And then we saw a field and we threw our umbrellas and just ran through it in the pouring rain. Made me think of the field from "A Room with a View." And may be it wasn't missionary kosher, but it was lovely and I felt like myself. "Love, joy, beauty!" And then we walked barefoot through the rain on the way back to the gare. Sometimes the missionary mishaps like that are the moments that make it meaningful. That was some crazy alliteration.
Just a few little snippets of our week here. I'll send more news next week. Before I sign off, here is a quote that I have been loving and thinking about this week that Soeur Bitter's friend sent her:
"Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength." — JAMES ALLEN
I like that idea—of fashioning tools with which you build who you become. And every good, bad, hard, joyful experience you have helps you create that, if you live it right. I feel that a lot lately. But I also feel that you can't fashion the tools alone, and when you ask God to help you, he makes your life more beautiful than it could have ever been alone. I love you!
xo
Liv
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