soeur bitter: Prophecy Fulfilled

HELLO HELLO!!!!

Not going to lie, this week was HARD. August is the month of vacations so it's hard to find people right now BUT we still saw some pretty amazing miracles and the people that we're teaching are mostly sticking around during vacation month (thank goodness!) and they're progressing really well.

Let's start with the people that you know the best---Françoise & Patrick. So at the beginning of last week, we go to their house and after getting settled and the Gentry's say hello to them both, Françoise turns to me and says "I have a something for you". "Oh?" She then pulls out from behind her back a Bretagne Cookbook! It has TONS of classic french and more specifically Breton recipes but the most important thing was what was in front--a little note that she had written. I was SO incredibly touched!! ALMOST to the point of tears. But I held strong. She then told me that it will remind me of her and also it will make me practice my French when I get home. (and yes, I have already used one of the recipes :)).

I didn't read the note in the front in the RDV but decided that I would read it afterwards when we were back at the apartment. So we get home and I decide to open it up. It says a lot of nice things but there was a line that really struck me. She said something like "I thank Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for you and Joseph Smith in helping me prepare for my baptism".

It struck me that she thanked Heavenly Father for the prophet Joseph Smith in preparing her for baptism. I suddenly felt incredibly humbled as I realized even more of the influence that Joseph Smith has had on generations after him. The sacrifice Joseph Smith made to bring about the Restoration of the Priesthood and of Christ's church has brought the blessings of the Gospel (including baptism) to numberless nations and people. And now with Christ's church restored on the earth, what great privilege and responsibility we share in bringing this message to the world.

All in all they are both doing so well. Patrick is so proud of his wife. He has been really believing for a while but religion was not something that Françoise really engaged herself in before. Now he can see how much she LOVES this Gospel and he wants to do anything to accelerate her progress. I kind of see it as his two best friends are now becoming great friends too. What a wonderful thing.

In our last lesson (yesterday) we were talking about the Sabbath Day when all of the sudden Patrick said "ya know something that Françoise said this week. She said 'God is leading me through my life' and that's not something I have ever heard her say before all this". They then looked at each other with so much love and then she said "it's true.". (Such a beautiful testimony of the Gospel uniting families in love). She then began to recount a few experiences she has had this last week that has really shown her the hand of the Lord in her life. So basically they are amazing and we love them SO much. And every time we go over they give us treats (like homemade icream) and worry over us. They're the best. :)

Julie is doing really well too. I don't have a ton of time to talk about our lesson with her but she is incredible and she is just eating up the Book of Mormon and the New Testament right now. It's amazing to see someone so THIRSTY for knowledge. She's actually in Paris until tomorrow so we'll see her again soon.

Last week we went to Zone Conference and Soeur Babin shared a well known video but with an interesting new point that I now wanted to share with you. First off, here is the video:

Elder Christofferson quoting Hugh B Brown: http://www.mormonchannel.org/mormon-channel-daily/213?v=1839005837001

She then drew our attention to quote that I inserted below:

“Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be.I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush,and some day, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down, for caring enough about me to hurt me. Thank you, Mr. Gardner.’”

Heavenly Father knows what he wants each of us to become and none of that entails becoming like our neighbor. Becoming the best of ourselves is not becoming someone else. It is becoming the best version of ourselves. Yes it is good to have role models and people that we look up to. He would never ask a currant bush to be a fruit tree, all He is asking us to do is to yield to His corrections and become the very best "us".

May we all submit more humbly to the loving correction of our Heavenly Father so that we too can become the son or daughter of God that He sees in us.

All my love,
Soeur Bitter