A Profane Bus Ride - June 17, 2013

Family!!

So this week was absolutely crazy. This transfer is really flying by which is nerve wracking because Soeur Rhondeau and I are pretty sure that we will not be together next transfer which is sad.But none the less, this week was awesome.

So you know how Jon always said that Bus's in Spain were crazy? They're crazy in Paris too. For example, we were on the bus the other day sitting in the very front. Suddenly the bus driver opens the doors and I think "that's weird. We're in the middle of the road. Maybe someone is chasing the bus." Nope. There was another car next to us with his window down and they exchange profanity for about 2 minutes straight until the bus driver closed the doors again. At which point he would then open the doors, yell something more at him and then shut the doors super fast before the driver of the car would respond. Open "didn't you see me? I'm a 30 ft long bus..." Shut before response. Open-shut-open-shut-open-shut. This went on for about 10 more times until the light finally turned green and then the car zipped away. Soeur Rhondeau and I were just about falling out of our seats laughing.  Just your average day on public transportation.

Prisca is doing awesome and she is definitely getting baptized this weekend. I am SO excited for her. She is so spiritual and at the same time she is the coolest person on this planet. This week we taught her the Word of Wisdom and Tithing. We were a little nervous because in our first RDV, she said that she had been investigating a lot of churches but she felt a lot of them just wanted her money. We were praying really hard that the spirit would testify of the importance of tithing and we practiced how we would teach it like 50x. haha we get to the RDV and we explain tithing as best we can. Afterwards we ask her what her thoughts were about tithing. She thought for a second and then said "well God has given me 100% of what I have. So it would be super easy to give him back just 10%." At this point we're trying to keep our composure but we're freaking out. 

We move into the word of wisdom and then she says "Ya. This all totally makes sense. God wants us to be happy and alcohol and drugs definitely don't make people happy. But I don't understand the coffee..." to this Soeur Rhondeau and I replied that we knew if she prayed about it, she would understand. To which she immediately responded "Actually you know what. I get it. Cuz there are a lot of people who grow dependent on it and they need it multiple times a day." Then in the prayer that she offers at the end she says "please help me to keep the word of wisdom papa". So perfect. 

Prisca at the Relief Society Weekday Meeting

She came to a relief society activity on Saturday and we found out that Prisca is HILARIOUS. She is witty and sassy and we seriously LOVE her. We will be friends forever. At one point we're having dessert and Soeur Rhondeau turns to Prisca and asks "is your cake good?" To which Prisca stares straight into Soeur Rhondeau's eyes and says "Cake is my drug." BAHAHAHAHAHA, oh my goodness. I wish I could send more Prisca quotes. She is absolutely hilarious. And it's great because she is seriously excited for her baptism. Saturday will be such a great day.

Also great news: Petula and her entire family came to church this week! We have been trying to get their family to church for a while and it was the best. They said they are going to come next week too so we're really excited. FHE has seriously been the key to their family. I love FHE's.

So we had the most AMAZING dinner with a family in our ward (The Lopez's). I was talking to Soeur Lopez and I found out 1) her sister married an american and they live in North Orem. Just around the corner from mindy's house and then 2) her brother in law (the guy her sister married) is from laguna niguel. She was like "do you know the Steele's?" What the what!! So we're just in Paris talking about our friends from half way around the world. Their family is amazing though. They are those kind of people that when you are in their home, the feeling of the spirit and love almost crushes you. It was awesome. And their kids are the cutest things. Frere Lopez asked me to bring my violin because he plays the cello so he wanted to play through some hymns (which was so fun by the way). But it was super cute. 

Their oldest son turned to Soeur Rhondeau and said "so do you ever have problems with the Mission President?" Soeur Rhondeau was like "wait huh?" "like does he ever get mad at you guys or does he take care of you?" His face is full of concern and Soeur Rhondeau says "wait what's wrong??" He looks at his dad and me play hymns together and he is like "I feel like you will be late home. And I don't want you to get in trouble because of us!" So precious. Did I mention he is only 8 years old. She quickly reassured him that his mom was driving us home so we would be home on time and it would not be a problem. But to all you missionaries out there. Remember that the future missionaries of the church are definitely watching!

Well family, I love you so so so so much.

Spiritual thought of the day: "Our Lord's admonition to men to become perfect, even as the Father is perfect cannot rationally be construed otherwise than as implying the possibility of such achievement. Plainly, however, man cannot become perfect in mortality in the sense in which God is perfect as a supremely glorified Being...A college student in his freshman or sophomore year may be perfect as freshman or sophomore; his record may possibly be a hundred per cent on the scale of efficiency and achievement; yet the honors of the upper classman are beyond him, and the attainment of graduation is to him remote, but of assured possibility, if he do but continue faithful and devoted to the end." The opportunity to change and progress is a gift from God, don't take advantage of that gift. Seek change, persue progression but don't fuss over the fact that perfection still seems like lightyears away.

Much love,


Soeur Bitter

Miracles in Gotham City - June 10, 2013

HELLO ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!!!

The sun is finally out in France and it is BEAUTIFUL! Don't get be wrong, France is beautiful in the rain too but with the sun out, the people are smiling and so many miracles come with the sun. It is fantastic!!

First things first. Prisca is getting baptized!! Her baptismal date is for the end of this transfer. The 22nd of June. So it is coming fast. We started teaching her about 5 weeks ago-only have a lesson a week but she is SO ready. I have never met anyone more ready for the Gospel. Just in case you have forgotten who she is or I neglected to tell you (doubtful) she is a 26 year old young mom that we met on the street one day. Soeur Rhondeau and I were talking about weddings (not so unusual) and mid-sentence, Soeur Rhondeau turns to this woman walking by and says "Bonjour! We are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ..." Little did we know in that moment that in 7 weeks, she would be getting baptized.

Prisca has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and to her, everything else about the church just logically makes sense because the Book of Mormon is true. To her, if the Book of Mormon is true, then the church is true and the practices are true. Pretty simple. Love it. She is going to be such a huge asset to the ward. Some favorite Prisca quotes of mine: In sacrament meeting she is about to take off her coat but she turns to me first and says "I'm wearing short-sleeves...is that OK for church?" after showing her where the baptismal font was she asked "so...am I going to need to bring a bathing suit to this?" he-he. Speaking of that, when we showed her where she would be baptized and talked a little more about what would happen that day, she asked "so how many people are getting baptized that day?" We told her that it was just for her. Her face light up. "Just for me??" She was truly honored that there would be a whole day in her honor. This last lesson, we asked her what she thought of church and she said "I love it. It's a perfect place for the family". We've noticed in lessons that Prisca is incredibly family oriented. Everything is about her two little girls and making a better life for them. Long story short we love her. She's funny, she's cool, she's incredibly sweet and I hate that one day I'll be leaving here. She's become one of my really good friends.

In reference to my headline, we found Gotham city. Let me just paint a picture for you. Imagine sky scraping complexes formed in a complete circle around a pond. But upon closer observation, this is no pond. It is a swamp. Where there are hundreds of dead fish floating on the surface. Most of the time this place is silent but ever once in a while you can hear the echo of children's laughter (which is super eerie). So the first time we came here, Soeur Rhondeau and I had a really good feeling about this place...but it didn't change the fact that it was kind of creepy. So we decided to call the Elder's and find a time that we could both come. That way, if anything sketchy happened, the were a phone call away. The Elder's started at one end and we started at the other. I can not even begin to explain the miracles that have happened at Gotham City. This place is nuts! I'll just highlight a few people we met and then in personal letters I'll probably talk more about Gotham city.

So we met this lady the first day who called us literally 2 minutes after we met her and said "on the back of your card, it says you have a DVD about Jesus Christ! How can I get that??" We told her we could bring it to her and she was incredibly excited (we have a lesson with her next week so you'll hear more about her later). We come back another day and knock but no one was answering. There was this man who was working there and he said "I saw them leave about 10 minutes ago. Sorry" to which we responded "Oh Merci!" and started to walk away. He then called at us and said "Wait are you the Mormons?" Instantly he had our attention. He then proceeded to explain how he met another set of missionaries just two days before "ya but they were men missionaries. One of them was Canadian and the other one was from California". Oh do you happen to mean our stellar district leader and his companion. He said he was at his brothers house and that they were there and he sat in on the lesson. He said that our church has been all over the TV and internet ever sense. "I'm finding your church everywhere". We instantly called the district leader and told him what happened and he freaked out. He said "that's not just any ami! That is our ami with a baptismal date! He is awesome!" There are no coincidences in the work of the Lord.

Next story: So Soeur Rhondeau and I are feeling awesome. We are seeing tons of miracles and there are so many people who are receptive to the Gospel and asking us to come back. We knock on this door and this lady answers. She doesn't seem to interested so we decide to give her a card with our number on it and say that if she ever finds herself interested in learning more, she can give us a call. Instantly her face light up and she told her daughter "Run grab that picture off the fridge". Her daughter comes running back with an old pass along card in hand. Sure enough, on the back is our number. She said that the had met the Elders years ago and the Elders had given her their card. She loved the picture of Christ so much that she decided to keep it. She told us "This is the second card I've received. So maybe God is telling me to come to your church." That was such a testimony to me that you really never know the entirety of your influence. Those two Elders have probably never thought of that woman since but because they were doing the right thing at the right time, they moved that woman a little closer to Christ. So awesome.

Also, Elder Ballard is coming tomorrow!! And Elder Ballard, Elder Oaks and Bishop Causse are all coming in September. Exciting exciting!

Also, are Julie and Tom coming to Paris? If so, I would love to go to lunch with them or something. I have to ask President ahead of time and get permission. Are they still coming? What's up?

Also I heard the Coleman's were in Cean! That is crazy! Soeur Holmes told me that you met her and told her to say hi. She did :) I hope you're enjoying France!

Also, THANK YOU SO MUCH MAMA RHONDEAU FOR THE THAT AWESOME JOURNAL!! I am the worst journal writer ever...but now I write in the 5 year journal every night :) It is beautiful and I couldn't have asked for a nicer gift. That was seriously so so so sweet of you. Also, if any of the Rhondeau's are reading this- CONGRATULATIONS ELIZABETH!! You're officially a Morgan! I've heard tons about you and John and I'm excited to meet you both :)

I love you all so much.

Quote of the day: "...once there has been genuine illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don't give up when the pressure mounts. You can find an apartment. You can win over your mother-in-law. You can sell your harmonica and therein fund one more meal. It's been done before. Don't give in. Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. He wants everyone to be miserable like unto himself. Face your doubts. Master your fears. 'Cast not away therefore your confidence.' Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

Love you

Soeur Bitt

Grandma Italy - June 3, 2013

I CANNOT believe it is June!! This is absolutely insane. It is finally starting to warm up here! Pray for the continuing sun :) We love it.

I'm in Paris right now (we're planning to have a picnic infront of the Eiffel Tower soon) so I'm going to keep this letter a bit shorter and then I'll try to respond to all the emails I got this week.

OH FIRST OFF!! Mayu! I finally got your letter! We had zone conference and my zone leader was like "I have an elephant card for you". I was a little weirded out until I realized he was talking about a letter from you!! I sent a letter back to your Manti address this morning so I'm hoping it will get there while you're down for Rachel's wedding. Speaking of which CONGRATS RACHEL!!! I cannot BELIEVE you are getting married this weekend. That is nuts! Also, I am dissappointed that I have received no pics of engagements or such. I'm expecting beaucoup by next week :)

So the highlight of this week was definitely meeting Amelia. Two weekends ago, the Elders ported into this woman who they said had eyes full of love and that we HAD TO return to her. They couldn't go in because she is single but they wanted us to return and visit her. So we went back this last Thursday. The Elder's did not exaggerate. She is FULL of love. She is a 78 year old SUPER Italian woman. Everything she does and says is SO Italian. She passoniately loves people and considers everyone her daughter. We call her Grandma Italy now. She actually was taking the lessons from the Soeurs 5 years ago but after that, Soeurs left Melun. In Grandma Italy's words "My heart broke that day."

Her house is in a super obscure part of Melun so the fact that the Elder's found her again is such a testimony to me that God is looking out for her and does not want her to be alone. Her husband passed away when she was 41 and she said that the idea of remarrying broke her heat so she raised her kids and has been doing it on her one for about 37 years. Her faith is out of this world. I have never before met someone with such strong faith in the Lord. And she is super passionate about her faith in Christ. She kept telling us to keep smiling and go and share the good word of God with EVERYONE. She kept calling us God's angel's and his disciples. It was super sweet. Then her grandma side would come out and she would say things like "and then after your mission you will go home and get married!" Just seeing a 5 foot nothing tiny italian woman commanding us to get married made me smile. She then pointed to our plaques and said "and maybe marry someone like you!" meaning another missionary. haha. I even thought in that moment. Oh don't you worry Grandma Italy, you will most definitely be getting an invite to my wedding. 

Before our visit, Soeur Rhondeau and I felt that we should talk about the Love of God and just keep it at that simple message. At one point, I told her how God loves all his Children but he also loves you specifically and how she had a very special place in the heart of God. Her eyes welled up to the size of puss n boots on shrek and she said softly "...really?" She is genuinely the sweetest woman. I thought then how everyone just wants the knowledge that they are loved and accepted by a loving Heavenly Father. When we asked if we could come back she responded like "of course you can! Why wouldn't I want you back!" and then she told us next time we come she will make us a cake haha. 

When we left, we asked if we could give her bisous (a kiss on each cheek. People don't really shake hands here). "OF COURSE!" she replies and then grabs our faces and kisses us so hard on each cheek that my jaw hurt for about 30 minutes afterwards. Haha. After Soeur Rhondeau and I left, we both said how that was like a visit to your Grandma's house on a rainy day. She motivates you and then tells you to keep going. We both felt like we could just float away and nothing could ever hurt us again. Haha. Now we have a standing appointment with her every thursday :) it is our thing that we get to look forward to each week. I can't wait to see Grandma Italy again!

Jon- HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! You are awesome. Congrats on defending your thesis too. 

Dad- Happy papas day! You're the best dad a girl could ask for. :)

Sorry my email is short this week. I will make it up to you by trying to find a working computer that will send pics. The internet cafe in Paris bites so each computer can only do half of it's intended job. I'll try to find a computer that has decided to accept photos.

LOVE YOU ALL!!


Soeur Bitter

View Along Our Morning Run

The Briefcase and the Tarot Card Reader - May 27, 2013

Bonjour Famille!!!

This week absolutely flew but it was full of miracles which is so awesome.

First, we love our new Elders. LOVE THEM!! Some of you have asked if we gave up Romain to the Elders because he is a single guy. So we gave the Elders all of our male amis but we really wanted to keep Romain. In our meeting with our ward mission leader, we were talking about our Amis and we talked about Romain and our DMP asked "well...shouldn't the Elders get him then?" we responded by telling him that we had talked to the Zone Leaders and they had given us permission to keep teaching him because he was pretty far in lessons with us. The DMP started arguing with us and then the new Elder jumped in and said "no I think the Soeurs are right. I think they should keep him. It's what is better for the investigator". After that moment, we've loved our Elders SO MUCH!! Romain is doing great though. He writes religious raggae music and he wants us to help him translate some of it/teach him English after our next lesson. We are the coolest Soeurs in the mission.

This week will be story time so prepare yourself. Early last week, we were not sure what to do with the little bit of time we had left one night. We both felt like we should go up and visit Petula and take a note to Vania (whose uncle passed away). The only problem is, they live about 30 mins away by train and so we would have to be booking it to get home on time. It didn't seem very logical to do, but we both felt it was the right thing to do so we jumped on a train ready to sprint as soon as we got off. We taught Petula a spontaneous lesson which was awesome but it also meant that we missed our train home haha. Whoops. As I'm coming up the train steps, I notice this woman sitting and I feel like I should just say "bonsoir" and then sit at the end of her bench. I do so and immediately this woman starts talking to us. After about 10 minutes we find out that 1. She knows a TON of the members in the ward. 2. She has met this missionaries back in "Dec 22 2008". They came to sing to her for Christmas and she says that she will remember that day for her whole life. and 3. That we were on the same train on the way TO boissy. She said that she recognized the missionaries and she noticed us. (INSERT: SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING THE MISSIONARIES. ALWAYS.) Anyway, SHE. IS. AWESOME. I told her that Soeur Rhondeau and I sometimes go to people's homes and share a message about Christ and sing/play music as well. I asked if we could come by sometime and I would bring my violin to play some hyms for her. We have a Rendez-vous later this week.

Oh my goodness. This week, more than any other week, we have met the most BIZARRE people. I don't have time to share all of them but I will share one.

So we only had about an hour to do porting this one day and so we decided to go to this area near our house. We go up to this building that has a sonnerie but the door is open too. We notice that there is this weird business sticker on it that has this crazy writing. I then notice at the bottom that it says "for a Rendez-vous call this number:" and then Soeur Rhondeau reads below that that she is a tarro-card reader. I think "this is too good". Just then we hear "Umm hello? What are you doing here?" We turn around and there is this 5'5" plump man in a bowler hat carrying a hard briefcase. We think "oh this must be his place". We introduce ourselves and he says that he has encountered the missionaries before.

Just then I hear from behind me, up the stairs of the building "Oui? Hello?" INSTANTLY my heart dropped because I KNEW it was the tarot card reader. We continue talking to the man and I hear three more times "Oui! HELLO!?" We realize the man doesn't live in this building but was just curious and so we decide to continue with our plan of porting this building. We turn and stop dead in our tracks. Why you ask? Because there is a woman coming down the stairs. And not just any woman. Flaming Red hair, penciled on eyebrows, bright blue eyeshadow and dark purple lipstick. "Oh ya" I thought "We have found the tarro-card reader".

She dramatically pushes past us as if having a vision and says "there was a man with a ____" what I heard was Malade. And I thought "there was a man with a sick? that can't be right. I must have heard her wrong" So I then ask "With a sickness?" She dramatically turns to me again and repeats the word. Soeur Rhondeau thinks she may of said mal être(?) and then repeats that to her. And the woman turns dramatically and repeats it again and then proceeds to walk backwards up the stairs repeating this word all the way up, in the most mystical voice you can imagine. Soeur Rhondeau turns to me and says "Mal être?" I responded by asking her what that could even mean. Bad to be? Bad being? She said maybe it was like bad aura. Well we were definitely really excited to go home for lunch and search our dictionary. We were determined to find out what in the WORLD this word meant. So we searched every word that started with mal. Imagine our laughter when we come accross the word mallette or briefcase. HAHA "There was a man who had a briefcase" and then repeating briefcase, briefcase, briefcase...all the way up the stairs. HAHA oh goodness. I love missions.

So one of our biggest miracles this week actually happened on Saturday. About 2 weeks ago, we were waiting for our bus to go to a RDV with a new ami. Soeur Rhondeau and I were trying to figure out our schedule so we were speaking in English. I notice this boy out of the corner of my eye watching us. Suddenly he asks "can you speak english?" IMAGINE OUR EXCITEMENT! We turn to him and start talking to him. He is from Ireland and his mom and his sister and him just moved here last August. We got on the same bus as him and after talking to him for a little bit, we just loved him. We noticed were he got off the bus and Soeur Rhondeau and I both said "we're going to port this entire area until we find his family".

Yesterday we go to that street. This street is FULL of sky-scrapping batimonts. "at least we won't be bored" I thought haha. We start walking to one of the batimonts and I get a feeling to go to one off to the left. Soeur Rhondeau walks to one of them and it's locked. "I feel good about this one over here." Sure enough, it is unlocked. MIRACLE #1! We go to the tippy top with the intention to port our way all the way to the bottom. The very first door a woman answers and she is AWESOME!! She is about 22 and we taught her the restoration. She was listening to us tell the story of Joseph Smith like when someone watches a movie for the first time. She then ran, grabbed some paper and asked us to write down the name of the Prophet today and where she can find things he has sad. MIRACLE. We continue porting and we find AMAZING people. This building is FULL of amazing people.

We get to the bottom floor and we knock on the last door and you would not BELIEVE who opened the door--Irish boy. Soeur Rhoneau and I were floored! The best part-he totally recognized us. The second best part-they speak english. The third best part-we set up a RDV with his mom later that night. It was honestly one of the most beautiful lessons I have been in thus far. Romain's are pretty epic but Gaelle's lessons was pretty beautiful. The whole time, I felt my heart would explode. Soeur Rhondeau and I could tangibly feel the love that God had for this woman. She told stories about how Prayer has saved her and how following the direction of God has kept her from destruction. She said beautiful things like "My heart didn't have the courage to leave so God gave me a new heart." I think that should be in song lyrics. We left feeling emotionally drained and Soeur Rhondeau turned to me and said "God wants her." haha We know that God wants all of his children to return but HOLY MOLY!! She is so in tune with the spirit already and the Lord has played SUCH an active role in her life. I'm excited for our next lesson!

I played in church this Sunday and it went well. It was perfect because our perfect ami Prisca was there and she loved How Great Thou Art. She kept singing it all the way home.

Speaking of Prisca, SHE. IS. AWESOME! She seriously does everything we invite her to do. If we have her read chapters, she has not only read them, but has deep thoughts about it. We invited her to church (on mothers day) and she traveled the hour round trip to come! WE. LOVE. HER! We are also hoping that for one of the p.days, we can go to Paris with her and just have a fun girls day. She wants to show us where you can buy those really cool african skirts. I forget the name of them. Anyway, she is super! Our lessons with her are incredibly effortless. She is one of the elect. Really. When we asked her what faith is, she said "To me, to have faith you have to show it. For example, I love my girls. I can tell them all the day long that I love them, but if I don't feed them, what kind of love is that? With God it's the same. If you have faith in him and love him, you have to show it". What do you even need to teach after that?? She teaches herself!! It's awesome. I love her so much.

Sarah: Thank you so much for your email. Soeur Rhondeau and I had a rough day last week and I read your email over and over and it got me through. You're amazing.

Anne: Congrats on passing your driving test! Remember that I love Leo and if you kill him, it might be the end of our friendship. Just kidding...sort of...haha...but seriously...

Jon: GOOD LUCK THIS WEEK!! YOU BE AWSOME!! YOU ARE IN MY PRAYERS ALWAYS!!

Dad: GOOD LUCK THIS WEEK TO YOU TOO! Luck for everyone! You are also in my prayers.

Avec Amour,
Soeur Bitter


soeur-rhondeau.blogspot.com Read if you feel so inclined to hear more crazy stories from my beautiful companion.

The Melun Forest - May 20, 2013

So this week we may or may not have stumbled upon an enchanted forest in Melun. Pictures are attached. Get excited. 

P-Day Shot From the Melun Forest

This week was so awesome. We don't have as much time to write emails this week as normal so I'm just going to write a couple highlights and then spend the rest of the time uploading pics.

So last week was CRAZY!! We officially have Elders in our village and it is amazing. Soeur Rhondeau and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. 1) because we feel like we are not in this alone and 2) because there are areas of our zone that we feel a responsibility for but as sisters we probably shouldn't really be going there. With the Elders here, I feel like we have so much more support and that spreading the Gospel in Melun will just explode.

One of the days last week we took half the day as a service day to clean the old apartment for the arrival of the Elders. After we cleaned we went out porting. We were seriously exhausted but Soeur Rhondeau and I were determined to do at least some missionary work that day. We head to a little neighborhood we had our eyes on. We knock on the first door, a woman answers and we introduce ourselves and say we have a message for her about Jesus Christ. "Well ok. I don't have a ton of time but you're welcome to come in". Voila, we went in and taught her a full lesson. Her name is Marie and she is AMAZING! She says beautiful things like "Prayer is the food of my day". Who says that?! Prepared people. That's who. As Soeur Rhondeau and I left, Soeur Rhondeau turns to me and says "I feel like that was almost...too easy." haha But she was so wonderful and she is someone who (based on experiences she shared) has just been prepared for the Gospel. It really is such a blessing.

Another fun story of the week was our good friend Oliver. Saturday night we're walking home and out of the corner of my eye I see this man waving both arms frantically to get our attention. I wave at him and walk over to see what he wants. He asks us about our badges and what church we are for. He asks "are you the mormons?". We start talking about religion and how to him, Religion has always oppressed the people of Europe. Then Soeur Rhondeau asks "Well, who is God to you?" At that moment his face just light up "HE IS THE CREATURE OF ALL THINGS" and he motions in all directions. He went on to share his own beautiful testimony of God and it was amazing to see just how much he lit up talking about God. Afterwards, he leaned in close to us, as if to tell us a secret and said "you know...I used to think you guys were a sect....but after meeting you, and seeing how nice you are...there is just no way. I'm going to try to come to your church tomorrow". I LOVE BEING ON A MISSION! I love the many wonderful people you get to meet EVERY DAY!

On a completely different note, Soeur Rhondeau and I had experienced a serious dry spell as far as letters go. John is the best letter writer so he wins an award but besides him, as a pair, we had not received a letter in like three weeks or so...which I know doesn't sound like that long but it is ok! Haha well then Mama Rhondeau broke the spell and sent us a wonderful package full of goodies! SHE IS THE BEST! She seriously broke the curse because that next day, there were like 6 letters in our mailbox. Mama Rhondeau is da best.

OH! I almost forgot my favorite story. So we're teaching the Lam-yam son because he is getting baptized. (It is a tradition here in Melun that the missionaries teach the 7 year olds just before they turn 8). Last week he asked "How can you be happy all the time?" We then talked about being grateful and how when we realize the wonderful things that God has done for us, we can be more and more happy. We told him that we would buy him a gratitude Journal for that next week. This week, when we were teaching him again (oh and all the lam-yam kids sit in on the lesson so we basically teach the 4 cutest Asian kids on this planet) We all went around the room and said three things that we are grateful for. We get to Lea (5 years old) and she says "umm...I'm grateful for church...and the sister missionaries..." Insert cute little girl smile here. I love those kids so much.

Anyway, I'm going to spend the rest of the time uploading pics. I LOVE YOU ALL

ANNE- HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY!!! So once upon a time, I had planned to send all your stuff and the stuff for mother’s day in one fell swoop...but then today was a holiday and everything is closed so I will send it a.s.a.p. and you will just get a very late birthday love note from me :)

Avec Amour

Soeur Bitter

Too Nice a Backdrop to Miss a Photo Op

Quick Mothers Day Post & Photos - May 13, 2013

Dearest Family,

I call my family...an hour late...and then I forget to wish my own mother Happy Mother's day. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! MOM YOU ARE SO AWESOME! Expect a love note from Paris...but wait patiently because I think it takes a bit. haha

So favorite teaching of the week was definitely Romain. He was the investigator who just walked into church one day...and in case you didn't know...that doesn't really happen often. We taught him on Wednesday and then again on Friday. He really opened up to us and his life is comparable to Job. That is not an exaggeration at all. He has the most beautiful one-liners so I'm just going to include some of them in here. We taught with Soeur Demuynck and I can tell by her interactions that she has decided to take him under her wing and now is kind of like his mom. On Friday we taught him the Plan of Salvation. He would say things like "So what you're saying is that I can see my mother again." or "so does that mean we're a celestial family?" (indicating to the 3 of us). When I asked him to pray about the plan of salvation and to know if God loved him he said "I will pray about it. But I'm pretty sure it's true. Why else would you be here?". He has so much faith in God and he has had such a hard life. He said that he was once taught by Missionaries of another faith but he sent them away because they taught him he could not adore and love God "of course I will love God. He's my father!". He is seriously the sweetest man we have ever met and every time we leave lessons with him, both Soeur Rhondeau and I think "this is why we are on a mission". We have never met anyone who NEEDS the Gospel quite like Romain does. We have already been able to see the magic it's worked in his life and it's amazing.

So I don't know if I told you this...but we've kind of developed a game here in Melun. There are Q-tips...like everywhere. It's very bizarre. Just on the ground. So we have developed a game with a point system and everything. We keep tally of it on our board. I know a lot of you are reading this right now and you're asking yourself, "what the heck". Since we walk a lot we developed a fun game. We were walking in Dammerie one day and I look at the ground and spot a yellow one (first one we've ever seen: 10pts) and then immediately after I spot a red one (5 points). Soeur Rondeau immediately yells "NOOOO!!! IT'S NOT FAIR!!" And then what do I do? I break into a little victory dance. It was fine because no one was watching us right? Wrong. Little did I know, but behind me on the sidewalk is a line of about 8-10 guys ranging in age from about 20-30. They couldn't get past me because the cars park 1/2 on the sidewalk and I was blocking the path with my little victory dance. Soeur Rhondeau looks back at me and just busts up laughing. Because, my happy dance, the one I thought was in solitude, was actually witnessed by a line of men just half laughing at my strange American ways. Oh the life of a missionary.

All in all, it was a fantastic week. We have a lot of really progressing investigators and it is amazing to watch the Gospel bless their life and see the change they go through.

Jon- GOOD LUCK THESE LAST WEEKS! I know you are going to rock it.

Aubrey, Kati and Meredith- If you want this relationship to work, you gotta work for it! Haha just kidding. But the transfer is officially over :) time to write me one of the love letters.

Rachel- How is planning the wedding?? What is going on??

Mayu- When do you go to India (it was india right?) I want to hear about it? Will you have a blog?? Can you send me the blog entries?? I would love to hear about your service there!!

Mindy- My companion just got Japanese stationary from her parents and we loved looking through it and at the funny quotes. It reminded me of my favorite pencil of all time "Happiness Music". It will always hold a dear place in my heart. I miss you so much!! I'll try to send you pictures soon.

I love you all so much. Sorry this letter is shorter. We are short on time today and we're in Paris again today and want to see some things.

I love you mucho!!

Soeur Bitter

More Family Night Fun

Rain is a Big Part of Missionary Life

Family Night Fun - May 6, 2013

So I know the other week I said it was the week of miracles...but maybe that was a lie because THIS week was the week of miracles. Soeur Rhondeau and I are absolutely exhausted. We taught a ton of lessons and have been running from place to place. We have been really blessed with teaching people who are very ready for the Gospel--which is awesome.

Firstly, so with Petula (she is the one who has a baptismal date for the end of May and the photo is with her kids) we had a FHE last Monday. Her husband is super nice and very welcoming but he said early on that he is uninterested and either isn't there or he will leave the room when we are there. So we had FHE with Petula and her kids. It was HILARIOUS! So we taught a quick lesson and we taught them how to play charades. We were trying to think of a game that we could play (with my limited French) and they would enjoy too. Charades it was and they seriously had a blast. Now every time we come, they want to listen in on the lessons and hang out with us. Well after the FHE, her husband started talking to us. It was honestly the first time I had talked to him. He told me that he had actually taken the missionary discussions when he lived in the Congo and that the missionaries just lived next door to him and they would come over a lot. He said that next Sunday, that they should all go to church together. We were floored! What a miracle. I think seeing his family so happy and having fun together made him more curious than before. Oh and the other picture below is when we taught Petula later that week. One of the girls was fascinated by my hair and was playing with it/brushing it the whole time haha.

She Did Wonders for My Hair

Family Night Fun

So we found Prisca this week and I haven't met someone who is more ready for the Gospel. The first lesson, she said that she had been looking for the true church but that she has never been able to find it. Her husband told her that she could pray about it because God promised that he would let us know what was truth (this all happened on splits so I didn't meet her until lesson two). After the first lesson, they asked her to read Alma 32 and the Restoration pamphlet. The next time Soeur Rhondeau and I go back and sure enough she read the entireity of both! And when we asked her how it was she said "I find this book easier to understand than the Bible. It just explains things better" She went on to talk about her favorite parts about how it explained faith. Teaching her is awesome because I really feel that Soeur Rhondeau and I hardly do anything and the spirit does all the work. We are definitely prepared for lessons haha we haven't tried winging anything yet but the lessons just go so smoothly and she is progressing faster than I have seen anyone do so far.

OH! Another miracle this week. We met this wonderful woman named Zwina. We were porting one day and she opened the door and started talking to us about philosophy and how we can know something to be true in this confusing world. She said that a lot of times, religion is tied to hatred and bloodshed (talking about crusades etc). She invited us in and we met her cute little family. She was talking about how she wasn't very sure about Christianity when I had the feeling to give her a Book of Mormon. I usually only keep one or two in my bag but I decided to take it out. As soon as she saw it, she said "you are Mormon?!" And her whole attitude changed. She talked about how she loved the Mormons and that she knows that we are very family oriented people. Next thing I know, we are going to the back of her house and she gave each of us these old (like 18th century) Christian books (including the Bible) as a gift. It was the sweetest thing that I had ever witnessed.

The people of France are incredibly giving. I have seen it time and time again. For example, last week, our key to our old apartment stopped working. We have a key for the door and then a key for the building. The building key is electronic and so the batteries can die. Well...they did. Haha when we went to the agency, they said that we would just have to figure it out for a couple weeks. It got pretty tiring paging people in our building to ask them to buzz us in. One day, this man saw us and he said "oh my friend lives here. Let me page her". We get in and go inside to do planning. Suddenly we hear our doorbell ring. We go to the door and there is this woman there who says "my friend says there are these two English girls who don't have a key anymore! I have two! I knew you were on the 3rd or 4th floor so I have just been ringing every door until I found you. Here! Have my key". People are so nice!

So the other day we had splits and we stayed here in Melun and the Luxemburg sisters came down. THANKFULLY I was with a sister who has already served in the Melun area for a while so she knew the area and we were able to get around just fine. She got really close with the Bishop's family while she was here because they can speak English and I guess her French wasn't very good when she got here. That night the Bishop's family had us over for dinner and the Bishops wife said the sweetest thing (well...to me haha). She put her arm around my shoulders and said "Soeur Hurrell, Soeur Bitter has the gift of tongues...you...do not. But keep working. Not everyone can have the gift of tongues" Whoops haha. But it made me feel good to know my French isn't a complete disaster.

So they have this cool tradition in the Melun ward that whenever an 8 year old is about to be baptized, the missionaries will come and teach them. It's kind of like a ‘rite of passage’ thing for this ward. So the Lam Yams son is getting baptized this next week and so we had a lesson with him on Sunday. We decided that the Gospel of Christ would be good and we could talk about the importance of this next step. It was the best thing ever! He knew every answer to EVERY question. "Michael, what is faith" Answer: "Faith is hope for things which are not seen which are true." BOOM! His response for every question was quoting some scripture. It was amazing! Maybe he can come teach with us sometime.

All in all, this week was amazing. There were definitely more stories but I don't want to make my emails too overwhelmingly long haha.

I'm excited to talk to you on Sunday. Dad and I kind of worked out that it will be at 9 am your time...which is 10 am TX time for you Texans. :) And I'm hoping to do google hangout so we can all be in on it!

Happy Mother's day mom! You are so awesome! I can't wait to talk to you!

Je vous aime beaucoup!!

Soeur Kari Ann Bitter

p.s. The new apartment is great. It makes me smile every day I come home :) And we're really excited to have elders here! So we're not allowed to teach men (unless they have a family or unless we bring either a Sister from the ward or two Brethren) so it's sometimes hard. But with them here, I really feel like we will continue to find people who are searching for the truth. EXCITING!