Happy Fourth of July! We sang the Star Spangled Banner during comp study, wore red, white and blue (just in the apartment. We didn't want to freak people out too much about our American cult.) and made fajitas to celebrate America. Slash Mexico. Because Mexican food is the best and we miss it. This week was just beautiful. It was one of those weeks where I kept on wondering how I got so lucky to be here.
At the beginning of the week I was having a "I cannot talk to one more random person on the street and have them reject me" kind of day. But we had 20 minutes left until nine and so we just continued to go. We decided to go contacting in Parc Pepiniere. As we were walking in I saw a man pushing someone in a wheelchair and I felt like I should talk to him. We aren't supposed to contact men though, so I kept on walking and contacted a woman pushing a stroller. She didn't understand what I was saying because she didn't speak French, so she called over the man pushing the wheelchair. He spoke a little bit of French, but not a lot. When I asked what language they spoke he said "Armenian." I don't know what is going on, but apparently we have been sent here to teach Armenians. We asked them if they would be interested in a message about Christ, and he thought we said 'address,' so he pulls out a sheet of paper and gives us his address. Even better! So we took down their information and told them we would come visit them. The next night we found their appartment and taught them. I have never in my life seen people who radiate light as much as they do. The dad and the mom just exude goodness. The Dad's (Zorab) mom and little brother who have epilepsy live with them too. They have been in France for five months and speak hardly any French. What is so beautiful though, is that we can communicate. At the end of the lesson they taught us some Armenian and we practiced and they laughed at us. The next morning we headed to the church to find what we could in Armenian. Bless the soul who translated all of the pamphlets, The Living Christ and Preach My Gospel into Armenian. We printed it out, and also a small guide to learning the Armenian alphabet and continued on our way.
The next day we were able to take the Armenian pamphlets to the other Armenian family, too. We taught just the mom and it was so great. We found out so much about her — that they were living in a homeless shelter for years, that she has seen God perform miracles in her life, that she adores reading Shakespeare and an Armenian author named Narok — we just really got to know her, and it was so cool to share God's plan with her. A plan that answers the questions that she said she has had "toujours."
Last night we went to teach Armenian family #2, and we knew we needed to go over the Restoration again, but Soeur Bradley and I both felt that we should teach the Plan de Salut. We got there and they seemed a little under the weather, and we started teaching the Plan de Salut. A little ways into the lesson Zorab pointed at his wife, Knarik, and said "Maman, Papa. Mourir. Aujourdhui." Her mom and dad had passed away that very day. We were able to testify of God's plan, that she will see them again. It was one of the most special moments I have experienced on my mission. Then we ate popsicles together and they laughed at our second attempt to speak their language. The amazing thing is how much we really are able to communicate, even when we can't speak the language. We will point to parts of the French pamphlet and then Zorab will read it in Armenian for the rest of the family, and they will discuss it and nod and then look at us when they are ready to keep going. I love the Spirit that is in those lessons — it is real and it feels like light and somehow we are able to enjoy being together and learn about the gospel. They are an incredible family.
Another great miracle this week was when we went to visit our new amie Juliet. She is the girlfriend of one of the Elders' amis, and is from Nigeria. The Elder's ami is really cool and has an amazing story about living on the streets of France, finding the church, and now is sharing it with all of his pals. She lives in a homeless shelter, and when we got there we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She told us about her hardships and trials, and how she has lived far too long in the world, and now she is ready to put God first in her life. She said that whenever she has put God first, her life becomes better. We set a baptismal date with her and are going to go visit her again tonight.
Also, fun moment of the week. We were walking back from our rdv with the Armenian family, and they live right by the parc so we got to walk through Place Stanislas, and there was an outdoor concert where the symphony was playing and there was an opera singer. We couldn't helped but say the creed — Love, joy, beauty! That's what the gospel is, and I love being able to share it with these beautiful souls in France.
I love you!
Olivia
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