Peg-Leg May 26, 2014

I can't believe another transfer has come and gone. It is insane how quickly time goes. (Especially when the sun is out. Mmm happiness).

Well to start this email, I thought I would rewind the clock to when I was an itty bitty baby blue in Melun (Paris Area). I was reading in the Book of Mormon about the Sons of Mosiah and Alma the Younger; just after these men had been converted to the Gospel, their strongest desire was to declare salvation "to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish". I remember thinking "hmm...I don't think I am quite at their level." When I went porting, if I was rejected my thought was more "Okay, well next door it is. We'll find someone who is looking for this." Whereas the missionaries were so invested in the salvation of the human soul that the idea of any soul missing these blessings "did cause them to quake and tremble." (Mosiah 28).

As missionaries we read through these chapters often because the Sons of Mosiah and Alma the Younger are some of the greatest missionaries who have walked the earth and at least for me. Their stories inspire me to serve more valiantly. Anyway, I thought long and hard about how I could have a similar zeal to share this Gospel. I realized one day that what I really needed was an increased love for those around me. With that increased charity, would come an increased concern for their welfare.

Well it worked. Now don't get me wrong. By no stretch of the imagination can I say that I have successfully obtained charity. It's a lifelong pursuit. BUT I did see a drastic change in my missionary work.

Now fast forward to two weeks ago. I was thinking about this experience and I thought to myself "How can I increase my desire to share the Gospel even more? I've already studied charity like crazy.” (Seriously there is no room in Preach My Gospel for notes in that section). “What can I do more?" I thought and prayed a lot about it. Then I told the Lord "Okay, I don't know what more I can do. So please give me something that will help my desire burn more".

Well that very weekend, I woke up and as I was going through the day, my knee started really bothering me. It was the weirdest thing. It hurt to walk but when I went running the next day, it didn't hurt at all. I then realized that in extending my leg fully, I felt a very sharp pull behind my knee.

"Odd...whatever”, I thought. Days passed and then the next Tuesday I asked Sr Francis "Do you remember when I told you my knee was bothering me? What day was that?" She then told me that it had been about 4 days and that it was probably time to call the mission nurse. After explaining everything to her, she then said "Well...at this point we're hoping that it's a sprain." My thought "Who makes wishes like that? I don't know about you but that's definitely not what I'm thinking when I blow out my birthday candles".

She then told me to stay off of it (like that's gonna happen), ice it often, take Ibuprofen and then get a brace. Boo. She asked if I had twisted it doing anything. I responded no and she looked kind of puzzled. Haha. But as the days went by, I understood what happened. Each moment that passed as I tried to walk my normal pace, I felt this deepening desire to just do missionary work. I would hobble around like a peg leg trying to talk to as many people as I possible but it's definitely harder.

This last weekend has been hard. It's been hard trying to push as hard as I can and then realizing human frailty and having to stop for rest or to lean on the wall as we're porting. So now comes my invitation for all of you :). Don't get me wrong, I'm still out there and sharing the Gospel but not at the same rate. SO. To balance the universe, I'm going to ask each of you reading this to share a Gospel Principle with 1 person by next week. Double points if you invite them over for an FHE. The fact that you have read this far into my email solidifies your agreement. Muahaha.

True Christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for your fellow men. This is the spirit of missionary work”-David O McKay

Updates on our people: well I'm kind of out of time so just be sure that they're doing well :) haha.

Cool miracle from last night: So Saturday night, Sr Francis and I were planning and we decided that we should do some porting in our neighborhood. We had the hours of 6-9 open and we thought that that would be best spent right up the street. We looked at each other and both said, "Wow...3 hours in our own cartier porting...that's a lot". Then we thought "Nah, we won't be porting! We'll be teaching!!" haha.

Well, things were going well. SO many people wanted to talk to us and were getting to know us but no one was yet interested in our message. We felt we should go up this particular street and then we come to find a group of hidden houses that we did not even know existed!! On about the 5th house, we spot our favorite thing -- THE AMERICAN FLAG.

Sr Bitter: "WIN!!! That house has an American Flag on it".

Sr Francis "Oh this is our time to shine".

We knock on the door and a boy of about 12 years old answers. He says and i quote!!: "Hello? uhhh...Je veux dire bonjour?" We were a little taken aback because at this point we don't know whether to speak in English or French. We ask him if his parents are there to which he responds "Of course. Come on in." Huh? Come in? You don't even know who we are! So we tentatively walk in and his dad is in the kitchen.

The dad says "Why hello! I know you! Well actually my father-in law knows you--maybe not you specifically but your church!" He says over and over "Entrez! Come in! Entrez! Come in!" He's wearing an American flag scarf. And we are SO unsure if they are American or French. Haha.

But now we're wondering "Wait. We know your father-in-law? Is he a member? Are you a less active family?" The wife is here at this point just BEAMING! They then explained that the Soeurs met her dad a few weeks ago and he loved them and all they did here in France. He even said "Who knows. Maybe one day you'll be so lucky and the Mormon missionaries will visit you too".

They kept saying over and over how much of a pleasure it was to have us in their home. MIRACLE!! We were so floored. They are this beautiful French family (except the son Dimitri is adopted from Russia) and they are practicing Catholic. They are so believing and open and wonderful. By the end of the lesson, they were pulling up the internet site for the church and looking through all there was. The wife was REALLY interested in seeing a picture of Thomas S. Monson. :) All in all, they are awesome and we are going back soon to see them again.

Well, my time has ended. And actually, my time with Sr Francis has ended too. I'm so grateful for the time that we spent together but now she is heading up to Belgium and my new comp is Sr Mason. I've met her a couple times but I'm excited to get to know her more.

I love you all

Soeur Bitter

Sr Vance and Sr Mangum. Saw these two in Paris. Love them so much

The cutest British family ever. I love them so much. Emma and Sophie.

 For Mothers day, the primary gave out roses to the moms. Before we knew it, two of the kids ran up to us and gave us each roses. We melted.

Every Person is Important-May 19, 2014

This week was crazy. We started off the week by peacing out to Nantes for an exchange. It was so much fun! The soeurs there are the best. I actually know Sr Holmes pretty well (one because she's in my group) but also because we have gone on like 5 exchanges already haha. So this time I went with Sr Bingham. I actually know her from when I was in Rennes. She was in Vannes at the time. Haha small world. She is so humble and so fun to be around!! It was probably one of my favorite exchanges I've been on...besides probably sr holmes. And since they're comps, it was just a blast!! They are teaching some really awesome people over in Nantes. I'm excited for them.

Well then we came back to our little itty bitty city here in Vannes. Haha being in Nantes reminded me just of how small our town is. I love it. And actually while we were in Nantes, we got a call from Sonia asking if we could come over and talk to her. We told her that we were out of town but that we would come to her place first thing. We fixed a RDV for that next day in the afternoon. When we went over, she told us that she was Skyping her husband a couple days ago and he asked how meeting with the missionaries is going. Back story on her husband, the first two lessons the soeurs had with Sonia and her family, her husband was there. After that, he left and he's about to come back after being gone for 4 months. Well, he was not at all believing but he took the Book of Mormon and said he would try to read it. Well, he's been reading it. A lot. He told his wife that he wanted to take the lessons as soon as possible when getting back and that he wants to get baptized. what. the. what!!! Let me just pick my jaw up off the floor. SO EXCITED!!! Well he gets back next Wednesday so we're pretty dang excited to see him/meet him.

Background story on a new ami that we have. So last week, we were walking to a RDV and we were actually running a little late. What's worse is that we were going to be teaching with a member...so a lot of people would be waiting on us. As we crossed the street I suddenly found myself looking back over my shoulder at a woman crossing the street too. The thought came to my mind "you know. Youdid promise as a companionship that you would contact everyone in your path". I turned to Sr Francis and said "let's go contact that woman with the american flag bag". We head over to her (more thinkingwe gotta hurry!! than anything else). Well after introducing ourselves, our message and testifying for a little bit (sr francis testifies like a boss), she said she would love to meet with us next week and we set something up for the following saturday.

Now sometimes the problem with setting something up a week in advance...people forget and then when you go to confirm with them a day or 2 before... they've forgotten and then by the time you try to re-fix, they're not interested anymore. Sigh. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED WITH TANYA! She called us friday saying that something had come up at 2 (slight moment of saddness on missionary side) and then she asked if she could move the rdv earlier in the day (SO HAPPY!!!). We told her that we had a spot open at 11 in the morning. Well we head over to her place and talk to her. She is 20 years old and she first became believing because of the example of her older sister but she said that she just hasn't been reading the bible and praying as much as she used to. She is so teachable and willing and ready to learn. We actually had the RDV this time at her cousins house because she is still in the process of moving into her apartment. And despite the many kids running around making lots of noise, the spirit was there because of her deep sincere desire to learn more. Such an honest seeker. Love it.

Mince. I wanted to share all the miracles that we saw on Sunday. But I'm out of time. There are other things I still have to do while on emails. BUT I love you all so much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS FRIDAY ANNE MARIE!!! You are so awesome. The best sister a girl could ask for. Sending you more soon.

Love love love
Soeur Bitter

Happy 1 year mark Sr Francis!!!

Jean Pol got baptized!!! Look at that beautiful family. It's crazy because about 1 year ago, we met Prisca and next month it will be a year since she was baptized. So beautiful.

Hunting Seashells-May 12, 2014

First off, Skyping was the BEST THING EVER!!! It was so great to see all of you and it was awesome that Grandma could come too!!!

First update: So I think I told you about Sonia and her kids and the Batista family. Well in case I didn't clarify that before, Sonia is the cousin of Sylvain (the dad in the Batista family). Last week on Tuesday, we went to Sonia's for a FHE. Sylvain was working. We thought this provided the perfect opportunity for us to gauge how Karene and Sonia were doing.

Everyone brought a little something to share for dinner and then we went into our spiritual thought. Sr Francis and I had been thinking about what to share with them (and potentially all 5 of the kids). We felt that we should watch the movie "The Restoration". Normally I'm not a fan of just watching a movie for a lesson. I always feel that it looks a little like we didn't want to prepare for our ami. But we both felt that it would be the best thing for everyone. After reminding the kids of who Joseph Smith was, we popped in the movie and sat back to watch.

I have seen this movie 20+ times. But even with that, from the moment that Joseph Smith started walking to the Sacred Grove, the Spirit flooded the room. As a missionary sometimes you feel the Spirit but you don't know if the investigator is feeling it as well. Sometimes it is awkward to ask, "Now do you feel the Spirit too?"

Often we're just pouring out our souls in prayer begging Heavenly Father to help them to feel the Spirit too. At this point all the kids are glued to the movie. I'm so grateful! Everyone can watch peacefully. Then came the moment where they read from the Book of Mormon what we call "Moroni's Promise" which reads:

“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”

-Moroni 10: 4-5

Sr Francis and I turned to each other and we both knew that everyone could feel what we were feeling. Before we could say anything, Sonia responded: "That was...SO touching. I cannot even describe. I just...wow. So touching." Karene silently nodded her head in agreement. We both bore our testimonies and left them with a prayer. Naturally afterwards we skipped through the streets, singing all the way home. BEST DAY EVER!!!

After that lesson, Karene has been so much more open in our lessons. She was always a timid in our lessons. Her husband was making progress but she seemed more like a silent participant. Now however, she is engaged, sincere and excited. IT'S AWESOME!!

Later that week, the Batistas, Sonia and their kids all came to the branch activity. It was at the beach....but unfortunately it was scheduled on the one day that rained last week. hahaha. But the kids LOVED it. We stayed at the beach for about an hour and a half and then went to the Bouaka's after to have lunch. Pictures are below. It was so much fun to watch all the kids be ENTHRALLED with the ocean. They collected sea shells and chased the waves. It was so much fun.

Then the best part of all, they ALL came to church this last week!! GO FIGHT WIN! That was Sonia's first time attending church. Woot woot.

Well, I think that's a pretty good update for now :) I love you all so much. Things are going so well here in Vannes. It was SO GOOD to talk to you all. I know I already said that but I'll say it again. IT WAS AWESOME. You all look great.

Soeur Bitter

So Soeur Poznanski wasn't at zone conference 

(meaning that there are no pics of our zone on Facebook) 

so Sr Francis and I decided to take a picture of ourselves. 

Haha. Aren't we so cute!

Picture 2: Skyla (Sonia's 6 year old) at the beach

Picture 3: Wesley (Sonia's 9 year old)

 Collecting sea shells

Sylvain and his 2 boys

Missing Vannes-May 5, 2014

Well this week was crazy. We found out last Monday after P-day was over that we were going into Paris Tuesday night so we could go to the American Hospital on Wednesday morning. Since we were already going to be in Rennes for district meeting that morning (Rennes is on the way to Paris) we decided to stay there for a couple hours before taking a train to Paris.

We checked to see how much time we would have in Vannes if we would took a train back and then go to Paris--we would have had 15 minutes so we thought it was just better if we stayed in Rennes...which meant...I GOT TO SEE SOPHIE!!!! Stop it. No yes it's true! We were back in her cute little college apartment and it was the best day ever. She's stronger than ever. She teaches with the sister missionaries now and has a calling already...the VP of the young adults. I love her so much. It did me so much good to see her.

Well after that we skipped over to Paris and after our visit at the hospital, we went and saw the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame. It was great. I love that city. Pics included below.

Well after what seemed like an eternity! Thursday morning, we were back in our good ol' Ville of Vannes. I love Vannes. It was so good to be home. Soeur Francis and I kept saying over and over Wednesday night "I'm ready to go back to Vannes. I miss missionary work. I miss our Ville." Haha. It seriously was so good to get back. Even though we were gone for only half of the week MAN was our week packed. We saw SO MANY MIRACLES and had tons of amazing RDVs. I'll relate a few of the highlights.

So on Friday when we were in a meeting with our branch president, our phone went off. (Why would your phone go off in an important meeting you ask? Why wouldn't I silence it? Because our phone is crazy and does what it wants. You can never silence it.) Anyway, it was our ami Patricia.

I have seen Patricia a few times and she is definitely a great ami and progressing but just not as quickly as the others so that is why you haven't heard much about her. But we got a text from her during DMP and it was honestly one of the most depressing texts I have ever received. It said that she has never felt God's love and that He must not be there. She told us that she was no longer interested in taking lessons from us. Well we don't give up so easy.

After our meeting, we headed over to her place. She opened the door and I was shocked! The light and life that I had seen in her eyes before had left. She had obviously been crying for a long time.

We asked if we could come in to which she responded by opening the door wider. We followed her into her living room where she motioned for us to sit down on the couch. She sat in a chair across from us. Neither Sr Francis nor I felt we should say anything so we sat there in silence for a second while Patricia looked back and forth between us. All of a sudden she broke down into tears. Soeur Francis and I got up and knelt by the side of her chair. She then explained to us the incredibly difficult family circumstances she was going through and how she hadn't received the comfort she had been hoping for. We then told her that then it was time to pray. She offered a prayer to which Sr Francis then asked:

"What do you feel now?"

Patricia: "Nothing"

Soeur Bitter: "In that case. We continue. We keep praying until you do feel something."

Prayer after prayer, we each took turns pouring our souls out to our loving Heavenly Father. Then all in an instant, the Spirit was there. At that very same moment Patricia broke down into sobs letting us know she had felt it too.

After I finished the prayer, we turned to Patricia and after a moment of silence she began to really open up. We then read Alma 32 together. It was amazing to see the power the Book of Mormon bring her comfort and peace. She was truly heavy laden. It reminded me of one of the lessons I had with Prisca in Melun where she said "Whenever I'm sad, I read the Book of Mormon. That is when I feel my burdens lighten and it's easy to be happy again." The Book of Mormon is true.

We also saw Sonia this week. It was actually her birthday on Thursday so we dropped by a patisserie and shared a 10 minute message. On Sunday we went back and shared a full lesson but this time it was with her alone. Her kids were upstairs watching a movie and we actually thought it would be better.

We wanted to teach a more in-depth lesson of the Restoration. Sonia has been saying over and over again that she doesn't need to be baptized because she already has been baptized. She let us know that she just wants a place to pray. So we decided that it would be best to re-teach the restoration and really emphasize what it means to have Priesthood Authority on the earth.

Well people PRAYERS WORK!!! All week, we have been praying and praying that Sonia would be open and receptive when we talk about priesthood authority and baptism. And the lesson could not have gone better! It was amazing. She understood everything perfectly.

For example: “Why do you think authority to do these ordinances is important?”

Sonia's Answer: Well it's like when Christ was on the earth. He didn't just go to anyone to get baptized. He went to John because he had the authority to baptize.”

Awesome! The spirit was so strong by the end of the lesson. She told us that she would pray to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet and that she will be baptized when she knows he is a prophet. So amazing! I’m so excited for when her husband comes back from his military mission. We are hoping they can all be baptized together. Sonia, her husband and their son Wesley (the other two are too young).

Also this week Sr Francis's sister got married. As you can imagine that would be hard especially if your sister is also your best friend and you are 3000 miles away. But she's a champ of course and didn't skip a beat doing missionary work. But all week we were praying for "Wedding miracles" haha. We really wanted to find a family and testify to as many people as we could of the eternal nature of families and marriage. We definitely got a lot of opportunities to testify of eternal families but by the end of the week we still had not found a new family to teach. Day after day we had pounded the pavement.

Finally Sunday came and we still hadn't found that family. That evening, we head out to a small town outside of Vannes to do some porting. Well the last 30 minutes, on the last day of the week, we knocked on a door and a man named Jean-marc answered the door. At first he was not at all interested. But we kept talking to him and his original answers like "I never pray." turned into "Well actually I thank God every day for all that I have." haha

We exclaimed, "THAT IS A PRAYER!". He then explained to us how he used to live a very different life but wasn’t happy. But now he is married and had his first child a year ago--a baby girl. "And some people call me crazy for having a kid at 50 years old but I say Je m'en fiche! I'm happy!"

Then he told us how he doesn't care for riches, boats or cars anymore. He finds joy in his family and in making others happy. Then came the moment that we had all been waiting all week for, Sr. Francis bore a beautiful testimony of the importance of families and why she had decided to come out on a mission. We then both explained to him how much this means to us and how much it really will bless our lives. All in all, it was a beautiful miracle that came at the 11th hour.

How characteristic of miracles n'est-ce pas? Time and time again on my mission I have seen firsthand the scripture in Ether 12:6 "Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." I just know that our Heavenly Father looks on us from on high wanting us to push a little further, endure just a little longer and then we will see the many miracles of our Master’s mighty hand.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY EVERYONE!!! I love you all.

Soeur Bitter

Sr. Francis and Bitter in Paris.

Arc de Triomphe