hope & light

Bonjour!

This week we saw lots of great things and not so great things. 

Great things:

— We had a beautiful lesson with Anna, where we talked about faith and repentance and baptism. Every time we teach her there is the strongest spirit, and she is so sensitive to every message we bring. She said she wants to get baptized, just not quite yet. 

— We visited Foued and Kheira. These poor souls have had the most hellish last seven years, and what broke my heart the most was when he said, "Je vis, parce qu'il faut." I live only because it is necessary. But other than that, they have no hope. We were able to talk and cry with them and share them a message of hope. They are so sweet and sad, and it was the biggest testimony to me of how REAL the hope of God is. When we left, there was a tangible feeling of difference and hope. 

— Meeting a 93 year old woman while porting, who was sharp as can be and told us lots of stories. My favorite part was when I saw her cat and I said "Est-ce que vous aimez les chats?" To that she replied "I love everything! Dogs, cats, flowers, TOUT!" She really did, too. So full of love. 

— A birthday party for our favorite Albanians. It was Domineko's birthday and so after our French lessons we made a cake and had a little fete, Albanian music and all. 

— getting a surprise package from Aunt Julia on a day where I needed it most. It was heaven sent! 

— Soeur Bradley, who is still an ange and loves taking five minute "walk through a pretty cathedral breaks with me" when it is needed. (did I mention that there are 18 cathedrales in centre ville alone?!) Bless her soul. 

— Madame Sevoyan telling us that usually she feels sad and disappointed, but that when she reads the Book of Mormon, there is a peace and happiness that she feels. 

Not so great things:

— The number of men we saw peeing on the street. You wouldn't even believe it. 

— Having some hard days, where my own hope felt a little challenged by the heaviness of hard things. 

Every day we talk to people who are lacking hope and need a little light. And somedays I'm lacking hope and need a little light too. One of my favorite talks ever is given by Elder Uchtdorf, and when things got hard this week I would think of this part of his talk:

"There may be some among you who feel darkness encroaching upon you. You may feel burdened by worry, fear, or doubt. To you and to all of us, I repeat a wonderful and certain truth: God’s light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things.It has the power to soften the sting of the deepest wound. It can be a healing balm for the loneliness and sickness of our souls. In the furrows of despair, it can plant the seeds of a brighter hope. It can enlighten the deepest valleys of sorrow. It can illuminate the path before us and lead us through the darkest night into the promise of a new dawn."

I love the whole talk, and if you want to read it, go here: 

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/the-hope-of-gods-light?lang=eng 

Sometimes days are hard, even when you feel like there is no reason for it to be hard. But light is real and it can make hard days and darkness okay. And the good things always outweigh the not so good things. I am so thankful for this knowledge, and it is such a privelege to be able to be sharing this light with the people of France who are weighed down by hard things. Everyone needs a little hope. 

I love you! Thanks for all of the prayers and  light and love you send my way.  

Love

Olivia