Happy Real Thanksgiving!

Salut!

 

Over the last few weeks, Sœur Stahly and I have been convinced that Thanksgiving occured on the third Thursday of every Novemeber. We were telling EVERYBODY. The nice old lady on the bus, our sweet American-obsessed amie who was sure it was on the 28th, every member of our ward. Feasts were scheduled, paper turkeys were made. And then we found out it was this week. Oh the shame. Confessionals were made, dinners rescheduled, I can't believe how many times my pride has been smashed on my mission. It is hilarious. Happy Thanksgiving though!

 

We had some really cool lessons this week. We focussed a lot on listening. I think it is really amazing what you can discern and understand about someone just by listening. So often we are so focussed on being understood that we forget to understand. We went to teach Manon this week about the Premortal Life. She loved it. As we talked about it her face just got brighter and brighter. We asked her what this meant to her, to know that she lived with God before she said, "It means that He knows me. It means that He loves me. It means that He made a plan and we made a promise." I loved that. The idea of a promise is so beautiful. We have taught that lesson a few times this week and it is one of my favorites. When we asked our amie Luce the same question she said, "To me it means that all of us are really good at heart. And that maybe our goal in life is to find or refind that goodness and make it brighter." It is such an innate feeling. It just feels right that we existed before this life, and that God knows us.

 

A few months ago I started talking to a girl on the train from Maldavie. We hadn't been able to meet with her, due to a lack of communication skills (i.e. last time we tried to set up a rdv with her, she was at the Eiffel Tower waiting for us ... ) but yesterday she came to Versailles. We went to the Church and ate dinner together and then taught a lesson. Or attempted to. We hadn't realized how little French she spoke or understood (the Eiffel Tower incident should have been our first clue ... ), so Google translate came to the rescue. And it was the coolest thing ever. It was like watching someone be uncoded. We would just wait for her response to our questions as she tapped them in. She has the most beautiful testimony of Christ. Her mom died two years ago, and she was in a place of a lot of sadness. Then she said she prayed and found God and knew that Christ understood her pain. She grew up going to Church with her mom, but the rest of her family doesn't go anymore after she died and now she is the only one who is still praying and hoping. She is so cool. My favorite part about Google translate is that it takes a few seconds for it to analyze what is being said, so before you finish one word it tells you it means something else. My favorite? "Jesus Buckwheat" always appeared before it changed to "Jesus Christ." It's the little things :)

 

Today we are heading back to my old area to go visit Prisca! I can't wait. So good to see old friends.

 

I love you. Have the happiest Thanksgiving.

 

xoxo

 

Sœur Rhondeau