More pictures! Forgot to mention that there was a storm of epic proportion this week and it FLOODED right oustide our apartment. And then my fave picture of us with our best friends the LamYams and Elder Phillips and Elder Angel.

Helllooo hello from the newest 22 year old on this side of the world. My birthday was the best birthday to date, and here is the reason why:

Prisca got baptized!!!! It was the most beautiful day. Before the baptism Souer Bitt and I were so antsy and nervous and couldn't sit still all morning. And then we went to the gare and met her and her family and then walked to the church to get ready. She was cool as a cucumber and so excited to get baptized. Her husband came, and it was the first time we had met him. He is seriously so. awesome. They are a rockstar couple with two little girls,  and by the end of the day he had asked for a Book of Mormon. As she got baptized, I really felt the strongest confirmation of the truth of the gospel, and of God's love for Prisca. It was franchement, the most wonderful week of my mission. On Friday we went and had a big delicious African meal at Prisca's house — fish and plantains and spicy things. It was the best! As we were all at her house sitting around the table talking and laughing and listening to African gospel music, I just had the fullest joy. I love that we found this amazing friend who was just prepared for the gospel. Teaching her was such a privilege. She is such a light, and I felt so lucky to have met her and been able to share the gospel with her.

A few fun moments of the baptism day:

— we witnessed a three year old literally rip the entire fire extinguisher off of the wall right by the font. The case and all. Plaster was coming out.

— Us spelling Prisca's last name wrong on the program. And Aline's last name. 

— Being followed around by the LamYams all day. Not complaining. Cutest Asian kids I have ever seen. 

— Blowing bubbles with Prisca's kids in the hall (thanks E!) and spilling them all over the floor. 

That night was the ward party and it was such a fete. Elder Angel and I sang 'Hallelujah' and he played the guitar, and then we had a big meal all together. I love this ward so much — the cute LamYam kids who are our shadows, the quirky tiny, classic French woman who is a huge Metallica fan (never saw that coming), my bestest friend Aline who is like a sister now — they are and always will be such wonderful memories. Spending almost six months here has been such a blessing. I have come to know and love these people. 

In big news: I am being transferred! Other big news: I will be whitewash training in a ville called Nancy in the east. I was not expecting that at all. That's what I get for thinking I was going to get a break and not be training. We got the call last night pretty late, and they usually call to tell you if you are training a little earlier so I thought I was safe. And then the phone rang, and it was the APs and my heart sank and voila. Not only am I training, but I am opening up a new ville. I am nervous about knowing absolutely nothing about the city and the thought of figuring out a new transportation system is a little daunting. But it will be an adventure! I have seen the West of France, le Centre, and now I get to go see what's up in the East. 

For my birthday I gave a talk in church (best birthday present ever, right?) and went and had dinner with the Prunin's (she made us amazing Ecuadorian food and I had a watermelon cake.) and then we fed the swans with the Elders (yes, a comical way to celebrate your 22nd birthday. As one member put it, "I think you are the only 22 year old in the world who is feeding birds for your birthday." Bienvenue to the life of a missionary.) and then we taught a lesson. 

This weekend I felt so full. My heart felt complete and whole and I know it was because I was able to be a witness in the conversion of an amazing person, and also to be surrounded by my family away from family here in France. I have loved Melun, despite it's ups and downs and good and bad, and it will always hold a little bit of my heart. Especially after training here with Lil' Bitter. We were a great pair and we saw the greatest miracles together. 

And noooowwww I get to go see Elizabeth and John!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited and cannot wait. And then Bitter and I are celebrating my birthday by going to the Paris Aquarium! Birds and fish. C'est normale, oui?

I love you. News from the East of France coming your way next week. 

xo,

Olivia 

1. the LamYam family 2. Soeur Bitter, Prisca, & Soeur Rhondeau

Salut!

Soeur Bit and I just got back from Fontainebleau and it was raining in the morning so we decided to wear our thickest sweaters and tights and boots. And then summer decided to come out and it is like 90 degrees outside and we had to run to catch the bus and people thought we were crazy. Just a fun little piece of our day to get the email started and give you an embarrassing mental image. Tacky Americans. 

This week was so so great! We had about 8 rdv fall through in a row, but the funny thing is it was one of our better weeks. Prisca is doing so so well. We taught her tithing and the Word of Wisdom this week which we were a little anxious for, not knowing how she would react. Her reaction: "I can pay 10%, because God gives me 100%." That is Prisca for you. She is so full of faith. It is interesting, she is one of the most logical people I have met, and that is how she sees the gospel. To her, it is logical and it makes sense. Her prayers at the end of the lessons are my favorite. She calls God "Papa" and I love it. When she prays, she prays with her heart, and like she is talking to someone she really knows. There was a ward BBQ this weekend, and Prisca came and brought her daughter, and we just had so much fun. Turns out she is super witty and we had a small laugh attack during the little gardening lesson that they did. She came to church with her daughter yesterday and we made plans for the baptism this Saturday, and also for a feast this friday. She is making us food from Cote d'Ivoire, and then Aline is making some Rwandan food. And we will bring chocolate chip cookies or something. I wish there was some crazy American meal we could make. 

Petula and her whole family came to church this Sunday, but unfortunately got there at the end of the closing prayer :) Her little boy Jason was super quiet and would talk to anyone so I went over and said "Ca va? Are you tired?" He looked at me with the most adorable little puppy dog eyes I have ever seen and said  "No, I'm sad." "Why are you sad?" "We missed the prayer!" So cute. 

Not many other things to report from this side of the world. Transfers are coming up next week and I can feel a change coming. This week is packed full of lots of good things, so I know it will be a good way to end this transfer. 

I love love love you! 

Love

Olivia 

The sun is shining and miracles are happening in Gotham City

Salut!

Your packages arrived and it was perfect and the day of E's wedding was, surprisingly, filled with weddings here in France. They have this tradition here that when the wedding party is leaving the church, they all honk and have music blasting. It happened not once, not twice, but three times on Saturday. And then the elderly woman we visit shared all of her grandchildrens' wedding albums with us when we visited her, and after we looked at them I told her, "Guess what? My sister is getting married right now!" She then looked at me with the most sympathy and heartbreak and I assured her that it was okay, and that she must have been inspired to have a wedding themed visit. 

This week was so wonderful. Highlights:

— It officially feels like summer! It was hot hot hot this week and I loved it. Now that it is summer it seems that every child is outside playing soccer in come courtyard or alley. So we go to visit Petula, but she wasn't home so we waited in the little courtyard of their batiment where there were beaucoup de kids playing soccer. I started kicking the ball around with one of them and then Petula's 12 year old son Divin showed up and we started playing with him. Well, I asked him if he knew how to do a 'header', but it just wasn't translating. So in my genius I decided to show him how it's done. I picked up the ball and headed it. Directly, and at full speed into Divin's face. Yep. He thought it was hilarious, but I felt so mechante. Just a sister missionary bullying the kids of the ghetto. NBD.

— Soeur Bitter and I were porting in Le Mée, a sketchier but wonderful part of our area, and we found this cluster of batiments that is awesome. Like something out of Slumdog Millionaire. And it has a pond in the middle of it with lots of dead fish. We told the Elders all about it and we decided that we should all port it at the same time. They dubbed it Gotham City. And let me tell you, we might as well just set up the Gotham City Branch, because this place is bursting with miracles. We met the most amazing people, and we actually find ourselves wishing we could go to Gotham to port. It's our new fave place. As we were leaving the other day Soeur Bitter said "The sun is shining and miracles are happening in Gotham City!" One of my favorite things that happened when we were there, was this woman who answered the door, and wasn't very interested, but we gave her a card with a picture of Christ, and it has a free DVD offer on it. We were literally down the stairwell knocking on the next door and the phone rings. It is the woman we just talked to asking for a DVD and if we could please come back. We took her one, and we are teaching her more this week. So wonderful. Another cool one was a lady we met and we gave her a card, and then she looked at her daughter and said "Hurry run to the fridge and get that picture of Christ." It was a passalong card that she had received YEARS ago from the Elders, and she loved it so she always kept it. She said that because she has been given TWO cards, it must mean something, and she would love to come to our church. It was so wonderful to see how the little efforts those missionaries made in the past led her to accept other missionaries in the future. We never know the consequences of the small actions we make. I love to see that, and I wish we could find whoever those missionaries were to let them know that their faith and hard work lives on in France. 

— Our most wonderful, prepared, sweet amie Prisca has decided to get baptized on June 22. We are so full of joy for her! Soeur Bitter and I met her after we missed the bus and were making the trek from Petula's to the gare. We were in the midst of talking about weddings (this email makes us sound wedding obsessed. We aren't I promise) and more specifically the worst wedding announcement she has ever seen, and then all the sudden I am saying bonjour to the cutest mom walking with her two little girls, and now she is getting baptized. It has been so easy teaching her. She accepts everything, loves the Book of Mormon, has a strong faith and testimony, and really just is one of those prepared people. Her home is full of love and her family is wonderful, and I am so excited for them to have the gospel in their lives. 

— There was a carnival right outside our house all yesterday. It was such a fete. We didn't go. We were the kids watching longingly out the window. 

I love to see how the gospel brings light into peoples lives and adds to the light the already have. There is a quote I love by Joseph Smith that talks about how that is our invitation to all people: to add upon the light they already have. 

I love you and am always thankful for the light you add to me, even from across the sea. Je t'aime, je t'aime, je t'aime!

Love

Olivia 

Faites-le

Hey hey!

The weather this week was crazy. Rain and then sun and then hail and then clouds. It seems to describe our week perfectly as well. Ups and downs and I am tired this week. So today I am just going to share a lovely story about a woman we met. Her name is Amelia and she is our new Italian grandma. 

The Elders ported into Amelia and they said she just lit up when they saw her, and told them to come back. So they sent us Soeurs back, and it was the loveliest hour, spent with the most classically Italian Catholic woman I have ever met. She exudes goodness and love, and we sat around her table and she told us about her relationship with God. How it have evolved, how she was angry at him for a long time after she lost her son and her husband. And then how it changed, and how he gave her a "new head." I love how within the past week we have talked to two different people, one who said God gave them a new heart, and the other said He gave them a new head. Maybe I am biased because one of my favorite bands is "The Head and the Heart," but I have been thinking about the combination of the two. And how God can help heal our hearts, and our minds. So she told us all of these beautiful stories, and then proceded to seal the deal and officially become our Italian grandma, by telling us we needed to marry nice boys, telling us how good looking the Elders were, and asking us if we are eating enough. She is baking a cake for our next rdv. And the best part? She met the sister missionaries five years ago, but then they got moved out of her city. She said that her heart broke the day they left. How sad is that? We told her that God sent us back to her, and her eyes filled with tears, and I love her. And throughout the whole rdv she would keep on encouraging us and saying "faites-le!" (do it!) and told us to smile and talk to people, because everyone needs God even when they are angry or sad. Or I guess especially when they are angry or sad. 

Donc voila quoi. Everything is going well in Melun. Our investigators continue to do well, there is a family of baby swans right by our house (my love for baby animals lives on), and France is a beautiful place, full of wonderful people. 

I love you!

Liv