The Amazing Charleroi 1st Ward - February 10, 2014

Well first off, I'm feeling much better :)

Before I start I just want to illustrate a story of how well we are taken care of in Charleroi. Our ward mission leader found out that we were sick. Next thing I know, I hear the phone to our apartment ring. Soeur Ypersier is downstairs! We open the door for her. She comes up with BAGS full of food. "we figured you didn't do your shopping because you have been sick. Have you eaten? What's wrong with you? Stomach? Eat this." Haha then she zipped over to the kitched and did all of our dishes. She then turned to us and asked her to give her our laundry. I tried to oppose but what can you do. She's our Belgian grandma! The next day she dropped by again with our of our laundry pressed and folded...and even MORE food. Oh my. The Ypersiers are too good to us.

During our invalid state (which lasted until about Monday night for me and then Wednesday for Soeur Mangum), we went out a few times and every time was just AMAZING. I think I will just share one story.

Tuesday, we decided to go to our RDV with Alain. We had his number so we could have rescheduled but we had already cancelled a RDV the week before because Soeur Mangum was sick. We decided to just tough it and go. He related a little bit of his background to us. It sounded like he had never really attached himself to any religion because none really were in accordance with what he felt to be true. He is Belgian and very believing. We decided to start by teaching him the Restoration. It went really well. The spirit was strong and he said he would study it more and pray for himself if it was true. Our recent convert Christel came with us and she recounted the miracles she has seen in her life since her Baptism, how she gained her testimony etc. It was definitely a good lesson but it was the next lesson that blew us out of the water.

We go back again on Thursday. And I'm thinking "alright. It's go time. Did he pray or didn't he."

Soeur Bitter: "Alain, did you re-read the brochure about the Restoration?"
Alain: "Of course. I even read the little definitions in the back. It's necessary to understand it ALL".

Soeur Mangum: "And did you pray to know if these things are true?"
Alain: "I pray every night and morning" 

       *At this point I'm thinking "I KNOW THAT ANSWER!"

Soeur Bitter: "But did you pray and ask if these things were true"
At which point Alain turned to me and said firmly "I already know it's true."

Dumbfounded. I just stared right back at him. Then suddenly I just continued to say that today we would be teaching about the Plan of Salvation. That thanks to the Restoration, we have the restored truth of what God's plan is for us. When we were talking about Eternal Families, we asked him what an Eternal Family would mean to him. He responded by telling us that that is exactly what he wants. But not just for him. For EVERYONE. "after all, we're all brothers and sisters aren't we?" 

He then told us that he had been waiting for this his entire life. We continued and really focused on the fact that Eternal Life is for those who make and keep covenants with the Lord. At the end of the lesson, we asked him if he would make these covenants himself. Again, he looked start at me and said "Yes. Not a problem." We then went a little further to set a baptismal date!! He committed to be baptized the first of March!! He said that was a perfect day :) because it's the day after his birthday. WHAT. A. MIRACLE!!

He came to church yesterday and LOVED it. And of course, the members LOVED him. Before church, he went across the street to Frere Butielle's house so he could follow behind him to church. We talked to Frere Butielle and he said that he told Alain to come at 8:30 but of course he was there at 8. He then asked Frere Butielle a few questions about the Plan of Salvation. He said that he re-read the brochure over and over that we gave him. Frere Butielle answered a few questions but then he said to bring his questions to church and if they weren't answered there, that the missionaries would be happy to answer them. So he brought his questions to church. 

Well what was the 1st hour about? The Plan of Salvation. What was 2nd hour about? The fall of Adam and Eve. How ideal. All of his questions were answered perfectly. He got along amazingly with the members. He integrated himself perfectly with everyone. He is so friendly that it really wasn't a worry. Well anyway, we're pretty stoked. Someone that we found porting about 2.5 weeks ago is getting baptized in 2.5 weeks. So amazing.

Other great news. Since I have been here, we have been seeing a less active named Christine Puissant. It had been since Christmas eve that we had seen her. We decided that she was someone we should see more regularly so we went and saw her a couple times 2 weeks ago. When we were preparing for her lesson, we decided to have a reality check with her and talk about the covenants we made with our Heavenly Father at baptism. One of those is that we take the sacrament each week and renew those covenants. We read from Moroni 6 together. After reading we asked her what she thought of the chapter. "Well....it's everything I'm not doing." 

We continued to talk a little about the Sacrament to which she responded "that is definitely something I miss." that was the first time I had heard her say she'd missed something about church. We quickly grabbed onto that idea and then taught the rest of the lesson on that and the lesson following. Well AMAZING news, Soeur Puissant called the Bishop and told him she's coming back to church. She was there this last Sunday and our Ward Mission Leader said it was like she had never left. She jumped right back in with everyone and they welcomed her in fully like she had never been gone.

Charleroi 1 Ward is just killing it. Last Sunday there were about 9 non members at church (and for a ward that normally only has 60 people attending -- not bad at all) and SO MANY less actives who have started coming again. It's really amazing. And why is it doing so well you ask? Because the members here are passionate about Missionary work. They want it. Bad. So everyone do your part out there :) People are waiting for you and many of the less actives are actually just waiting for someone to invite them back.

Unfortunately I'm out of time. All the people who I haven't responded to, no worries, we're getting back online tomorrow morning. We received permission because our time was cut so short today. 

Love you all!!


Soeur Bitter


Grandpa!! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I've been thinking of you and Grandma a lot this last week. I got your letter and it made me smile to think of you two sitting around in the living room reading all the grand kid letters. It makes me smile :) I love you so much. You have always been such a support to me--especially in my passion for the Violin. I miss you!

Blessings Coming -- Even When Sick -- February 3, 2014

Oh lala where do I even begin? 

First off, I'm really sick. Haha...and then I got my poor comp sick. So here we are at the Church writing emails..because we're too tired to go to the internet cafe. Not telling you this to complain but instead so that you will understand if my letter is all over the place.

Huge highlight of the week was when Elder Kearon came and spoke at a mission conference. It. was. AMAZING. He is so inspired and so humble. It was one of those moments in my life of recommitment to the Savior. I think we all need those ever now and again (hopefully more often than not). But it was a beautiful conference and he really inspired me to kick missionary work to the next level. It was interesting because the other day I was thinking "I feel like I have gotten stuck in a bandwidth. I bring city to a certain standard of excellence but then I don't know how to push beyond that. I want to break my own limits". Well sure enough. That is what half the conference was on. 

Funny how it works like that isn't it? He talked about literally "breaking the bandwidth in which we work." How villes, missionaries and missions get stuck in a certain standard. And how we need to break the ceiling and work in a new bandwidth. He said that our Heavenly Father is SO pleased with us. But He is not satisfied. He went on to say that he really doesn't think our Father will EVER be satisfied with missionary work because he loves each child SO dearly and wants EVERY child to return home. So yes. He is pleased but how can He ever be satisfied when so many of His children are still wandering without the Gospel? It was really amazing. I wish I could describe it more than that but unfortunately...I can't haha.

Another highlight was seeing some of my favorite people on this entire planet--Soeur Hilton, Soeur Rhondeau and Soeur Barton. Unfortunately I'm a fool and never got a picture with Soeur Hilton but it was seriously such a blessing to see them all again. Every day I thank my Heavenly Father for the opportunity he gave me to come out here. Not only do I have a chance to share the Gospel every day but He gave me these amazing companions to do it with. These people who have changed my life for good.

With Soeur Rhondeau

With Soeur Barton

Theme of the last couple days: The Lord really takes care of His sick missionaries. Friday I started getting sick and it was downhill to Sunday (but things are looking up again). Well I hate staying in -- even when I'm sick. So I was praying BIG time that throughout the day that I could have energy and that we would be led to where we needed to go so we could maximize the time that I did have energy enough to do work.

Here is our day:

So I know a lot of you are dying to hear the update on the Duret family (family of 15 kids). So Friday we decided to have a rdv with just the mom and see how she's doing and what we can do for her. It was an amazing lesson. Let's start off by what her husband said to her after we left the first time "My love. I think it's time. I think it's time we start returning." 

Our lesson with her was so beautiful. She apologized for not really participating the last time we were there. She said that she was still angry at our Heavenly Father for a lot of things that have happened in her life. She has never doubted that He is there or that Christ is her Savior but she had a lot of experiences between our first lesson and the one last week that showed her that it really is time. At the end of the lesson I asked her what we could do to help her. She looked up, saddened, and said "it's up to me now. I'm the one who messed up. I'm the one who shut the door so it's me who's got to work to clean up the mess". 

With eyes full of tears we expressed to her that that is exactly why we are here. That she isn't alone and that the missionaries and more importantly-Christ will be there for her as she makes her steps back. There are those moments on your mission that you can never really explain. I wish I could. I guess it's a little like trying to describe what the Holy Ghost feels like. It feels good, you feel at peace and you gain understanding and direction but at the same time you really can't describe fully the feelings of the Holy Ghost. Just like I can't describe what these lessons feel like. But hopefully you get a feeling of what this marvelous work is like.

Right after, her son and his friend walk in. The friend asked who we were. Before we could reply she boldly replies "They are the missionaries for the one true church on the earth. There are other churchs that teach pieces of the truth but we're talking about Heavenly Father's church." BAM! At which point I turn around and say "Hi. My name's Soeur Bitter". Haha

Right after that, we go to the bus stop and we see that the next bus isn't coming for a little while so I thought "alright. well we can stand here in the cold or we can start walking and contact people along the way". Then I hear *honk honk* and I look across the street and it's Helene! One of our members. She motions for us to cross the street and hop in her car. SUCH A TENDER MERCY. She drives us all the way to the church. 

We stop along the way to say hello to some people who were preparing for the wedding that night and then Sr Mangum and I decide to do a passby of someone who Soeur Mangum met on the bus (soeur magnum and I always split up on transportation so we both can contact someone. Double the contacting power! WOOT). Her name is Francoise and she plays the violin :) Win. Well she was there! We had a wonderful lesson and at the end she said "You know. I am never here on Fridays. Never. I literally stopped in to grab my violin and to change. God really wanted this to be." I nodded my head in agreement. She turned to me and said "You think so too?" "Most definitely" I responded. I left feeling so grateful to our Heavenly Father for taking care of invalid me.

Right after, we stopped by the wedding of a couple in our ward. Everyone INSISTED we come haha. That is one thing I adore about this mission. The missionaries REALLY are part of the ward. It was such a beautiful moment. They had a little service where they explained what would happen in the temple the next day and the power of the sealing ordinance. It was powerful to hear so many strong testimonies of Eternal Families. After that we mingled with TONS of non-members and less actives. A lot of them want to meet with us too. HAPPINESS. 

Unfortunately after all of this, I was dead. :(  We had to go home for the night. Besides an early turn in, the day was amazing and the next couple were just as good.

Wish I could share more of the weeks miracles but honestly, I'm not feeling well. It's time for us to go home. 

Love you all

Soeur Bitter.

Thanks Mindy! My boots now stand up straight.

This weeks spiritual thought is brought to you by one of my personal favorites: Elder Maxwell

"Whenever Church members speak of consecration, it should be done reverently while acknowledging that each of us “come[s] short of the glory of God,” some of us far short (Rom. 3:23). Even the conscientious have not arrived, but they sense the shortfall and are genuinely striving...

A second group of members are “honorable” but not “valiant.” They are not really aware of the gap nor of the importance of closing it (see D&C 76:75, 79). These “honorable” individuals are certainly not miserable nor wicked, nor are they unrighteous and unhappy. It is not what they have done but what they have left undone that is amiss. For example, if valiant, they could touch others deeply instead of merely being remembered pleasantly..."

I cut it off after the "2nd group" because I really do believe that so many of us fall into that category. May we rise to a higher level of conversion so that we can become more useful tools in the hands of the Father in blessing those around us.