Today I was studying Jesus the Christ and it talked about all the names that are given to Christ. I thought of all the names that are given to God. Then I thought of that awesome quote that was sent by the Quorum of the Twelve. (I will probably butcher this quote) but it said something like "of all the names given to God, denoting his royalty, his glories and power, the name he asks us to call him is Father". I think that is such a beautiful thing. In Preach My Gospel it talks about how one of the first things to be lost during apostasies is the nature of God and our relationship with him. I can see that here in France. I have this desire to share with everyone how much God loves them! He wants to have a relationship with us like a child to a Father. What a beautiful thing. And I get to share that each day. What a blessing.
And now the events of the week:
Sorry you didn't really hear from me last week. Our Preparation days are on Mondays and since I was traveling, No pday for me! Before I start can I just say I LOVE FRANCE!! I LOVE THE PEOPLE! I LOVE THE FOOD! I LOVE THE WEATHER! I LOVE IT! This is such a step up from the MTC. The people here are so nice. There is no other word to describe them than 'lovely'. They really are. Even if they are not interested in our message, every person always tells us how much they respect what we are doing and they respect our faith. They tell us to have courage and keep going. They really value being polite and I think that's just a beautiful thing.
On the very first day, we get off of the plane and we immediately meet President and Soeur Poznanski. They brought us Pain de Chocolat (The croissant that has chocolate in the inside that mom loves so much). They met with us and talked to us for a bit and then the Assistants gave us a Book of Mormon and took us on the metro to Paris. The contacting begins! Soeur Callister and I met the sweetest girl from Austria. She was about our age and she accepted the Book of Mormon that Soeur Callister gave her! How great. We'll never know what happened because she lives in Austria but one step at a time right? That whole day was kind of a blur. We had a bunch of orientations -- orientations on how to drive in Paris, on how to clean apartments, on how to use your credit cards, what to do on P.days, etc etc. Thankfully I wasn't jet-lagged at all (even though I didn't sleep on the plane). It was funny to watch all the missionaries begin dropping like flies.
I received my first area and companion assignment. She is FANTASTIC! Funny story about her though. My friend in the HFAC said he knew someone who was serving in Paris and that I should look up her blog to see what it is like there. I read her first couple entries in Paris. Well sure enough, she is my trainer. Her name is Soeur Rhondeau. She is from Salt Lake City UT and surprise-surprise -- she plays the violin too! Super! She didn't bring her violin though :( so maybe we'll be able to find one and play a duet in church sometime. Anyway, she is amazing. I keep getting lucky with companions! There is a part of me though that is fearful. I'm getting too lucky...as if all my trials are being saved for a later day and going to drop all at once! She is really hardworking and up-beat. Our area is pretty big and contains a few different cities. It is called the Melun area.
Because the area is so big, we decided that we are going to focus on a few cities. We'll contact on buses and trains and end up in other cities frequently. But we also decided to narrow our finding approach down. The first day, when we were talking about it, I told Soeur Rhondeau that I felt really good about Avon. It was funny because I knew nothing about Avon or the demographic or the people. So off we went porting (door to door. I don't know how to say it in English) in Avon. We came across this house where these cute kids were peering out the windows but they didn't answer the door. We decided that their parents probably weren't home and so we just waved and left. Then the next day, Soeur Rhondeau felt that we should return to that house and see if the parents were home. Sure enough, the dad answered the door. His name is Freddie and he let us in and we taught him the overview of the restoration and gave him a pamphlet for the Plan of Salvation. He was so wonderful! He was the nicest man. We asked him what his conception of God was and he said "it's like he is above us and all around us". We only stayed for about 15 minutes but at the end we asked if we could say a prayer. Before I offered the prayer, I told him to excuse my French because I was new to the language. He asked where I was from and was excited to hear I was from the U.S. I offered the prayer and then after he said "wow. That was amazing. I have such a good feeling right now. Actually, could you pray again -- this time in English? Because I feel the prayer would be even stronger!" HOW AMAZING IS THAT! Sure enough, I offer another prayer. He loved it so much. He works a lot in Germany and France but he told us that he wants us to come back as much as possible. That we bring a "positive energy" that he wants to have in his home. Next time, he said, he has to make us dinner. WIN! I just love the people of France. Anyway, his name is Freddie and we just love him. We are hoping that we will see him again this weekend. Hopefully work isn't too crazy and we are able to teach him.
The coolest experience happened while porting. We were knocking and this man opens the door. The second he opened the door, I felt like love just poured out of their house. He was the nicest man. He called his wife over and she was so wonderful. They were Muslim and not interested in the Gospel but they had strong testimonies that we were all Children of God and that we were all the same in God's eyes. That He loved all of his children so deeply. It was amazing to see a family that loved each other so much that it literally poured out of their home. Did I mention I just love all the French people? Oh, except sometimes, the sisters get hit on by creepy men. That's a fun side note that describes an average day in France. Who can complain though? I mean, honestly. We're in France!
One of the lessons we taught this week was to this awesome lady named Petula. She has a baptismal date in May! The Soeurs started teaching her before I got here. Soeur Rhondeau says that her knowledge of Christ and God is super limited. She had never heard of Christ's miracles before meeting us. They had watched with her the "Finding Faith in Christ" movie and to Petual, it was like watching a cinematic movie for the first time. Whenever a miracle was performed she would just gasp and cover her mouth with her hands. She would turn to the missionaries with a look on her face like "Is this true?" So awesome. She loves all the LDS movies. We watched the restoration with her this week and described the restoration in more detail. She is just such a joy to teach. She has so much faith and is so humble. When she hears truth, she doesn't doubt it. She just believes. I love teaching so much. Each person has so many wonderful spiritual experiences in between visits that they are just dying to share with us. I love it.
CONFERENCE WAS AWESOME!! So here, we watch Saturday morning that night and the Sunday, we watch the next three sessions... the Sunday afternoon is too late for us to watch so we will have to catch it some other time. There is a member in our ward (who is an Angel) who told us if we missed anything; we can come watch it at her place anytime. Also, did you see me did you see??? The MTC choir was on TV!! Did you see us? I didn't because I couldn't watch longer. Let me know!!
France is BEAUTIFUL!! In our area alone there are like 10 chateaus (castles) and in every town there is at least one really old church. The houses and buildings are so cute! Today, for P-day we are going in to Paris. The mission president has changed the rules so that if you are in the area/suburbs of Paris, you can go anywhere in Paris for your P-day.
Speaking of President and Sister Poznanski...they are saints. Sister Poznanski is the sweetest woman. Before she was called to this calling, (about a year ago) she did not know any English. When she got the call, she thought of all the American missionaries who would come to France. She wanted them to feel as welcome as possible so she decided that she would learn English. I was floored when I found this out because her English is INCREDIBLE! The first two days we were with them, they bent over backwards to make us feel welcome. Everyone in the office was put to work in accommodating the new missionaries and making them feel welcome.
Sister Poznanski gave us this mini arc de triumph when we got our area assignments. She told the story of Napolean and gave us this quote that he said. That we cannot return home, except under our personal Arcs of Triumph. She encouraged us that when we finally walk under our "Arc of Triumph" and return home that it is actually with triumph.
So I love you all bocoup de bocoup (that is not a real phrase by the way, so don't say it to a French person). I love that you all sent me emails :) made me feel loved. Go ahead and look up the touristy spots in my area :) -- you'll be jealous.
Well I have to go grocery shopping so we can catch the train to Paris. We're going shopping and to the Eiffel Tower! Again, you can be jealous if you so choose.
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| Sacré-Coeur Basilica |
Also, the theme of conference this time--definitely the Family and Missionary work. HOW FANTASTIC! I thought of the YSA wards like "hmm...so which should I be doing...getting married or going on a mission.." the thought made me laugh.
Avec tout mon amour,
Sœur Bitter
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