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
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| Sr. Francis and Bitter in Paris. |
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| Arc de Triomphe |
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