This last week was 'n'importe quoi' aka RIDICULOUS!
We actually don’t live in our proselyting area so we take
the metro to get just about EVERYWHERE. Well, the people decided to go on
strike, and shut down all of the buses and metros for a few hours. No big deal,
right? WRONG … the strike lasted for an unexpected 3 days … all because they
wanted a 2.5% increase and 10 weeks of vacation! Haha, it was so funny trying
to come up with creative ways to get from place to place and to get back home
each day! We had appointments scheduled with investigators that we had no way
of getting to and the traffic jams were out of this world! We made the most of
it and did our best to still be effective missionaries, but it was tricky and
took some creative thinking on our part. We also dug through the area book,
which is a HUGE binder full of all of the information of members of the ward in
the area, members who are less-active, the people who have previously met and
taken lessons from the missionaries, and just about any person who the
missionaries in this area have talked to and received their phone numbers from
in the past. To sum it all up, it's like Santa's Christmas list ... just full
of records and useful information! We were able to spend many hours flipping
through the pages and calling up people who had lost contact with the
missionaries from 5-6 years ago! We set up a handful of appointments with them
and one of the pages of a woman investigator showed that she had been taught by
two sister missionaries a few years ago … Soeur Lund and Soeur Smart (aka
Elizabeth Smart)!!! She served in our mission a few years ago, but I had no
idea that she had served in my city!
Last week we had the opportunity to take the young women of
our ward out with us for an activity to contact people in the streets and show
them what missionary work is really like. We went close to a university, and my
companion took a few other young women "porting", which is basically
tracting from door to door. So I was on my own with those little French young
women and I had to try to explain how to go up to someone and talk to them
about the gospel in a normal, but bold, way. Haha, it was hard trying to
explain it to them, so I just said to myself that I guess I just gotta show ‘em
how it's done! It was crazy waltzing up to someone in the street without having
my fluent-speaking companion by my side for backup. The first few people were
not interested in the very least and were rushed with time, but eventually we
were able to find some people who were! The young women had a great time and
were able to find confidence in talking to people. At first they were scared to
do it, and in my head I'm just thinking ... you KNOW the language! It reminded
me of times back home when I was probably too shy to share the gospel ... even
with some of my closest friends! Living what you believe and being a good
example is super important, but it's not always enough. We can't let
opportunities pass in front of us to invite people to get to know Jesus Christ
better, just because we are scared to open our mouths and say something.
Sofia, my 15-year old gypsy gal, is getting baptized on
Saturday! Aw man, my heart has grown two sizes just from that family alone. I
love them so much! We were teaching her about tithing and fast offerings when she
said, "I understand the importance of paying my tithing. My dad pays it
every month. I am going to pay it so I can help the poor." I can't even
describe to you how little this family has, and yet, how much they truly DO
have. They love one another, and do everything they possibly can to follow the
Savior. They have hearts of gold. They have their minds in the right place and
are always looking for ways to help others. Their family alone has changed my
life for the better. Sofia tells me that she knows the Book of Mormon is true.
She reads it every day and said she has a burning of good feelings in her
heart. At church, the 8 gypsy children who I sit with in the pew can be unruly
and hard to control (especially when I don't know their Romanian language!) … BUT
they come. They come to learn more about Christ. They come to improve their
lives and become better people; and that's why we're here. It doesn't matter
what you have, it matters who you are with what you have.
We also had a stake primary activity on Saturday with the
theme of missionary work! I had a group of about 13 little French kids, ages
3-11. Haha, it was quite the task trying to keep their attention and to control
them all in French, but it worked out and they were so sweet! It made me think
of my little primary class I taught last summer and reminded me about my desire
to one day be an elementary school teacher someday. If we could all learn to
become more child-like, with pure intentions and a desire to learn, we would
all be so much closer to our Heavenly Father. Our time together at the activity
was such a blast! They took lots of pictures and video, and said an article
about it might even end up in the Liahona church magazine!
We ate/had a Family Home Evening at the Boutoille family's
house. Their dad is a member of the Area Seventy out here (Elder Patrick
Boutoille). He's awesome, and actually reminded me a lot of my dad! He came
home from work and you could just tell how excited his family was to see him!
Super spiritual, but also laid back and wasn't afraid to try and crack some
jokes. I love their family.
I had the opportunity to meet Camille's family! We went over
to their house after church for her mother's birthday and met both sets of her
grandparents! Her grandparents actually reminded me of my Grandpa and Grandma
Vance - it was crazy. It was good to feel at home a bit with them and their
sweet and funny personalities. We ate together and even stopped by the Agricultural
Festival they were having at her high school, which is actually more like a university.
It was neat seeing the inside of a French school and seeing tons of animals as
well! Her family is so sweet and we were able to talk to them more about our
purpose here as missionaries. The conversation just flowed naturally and they
were curious to know more about what we believe. That's why we're here … to
INVITE people to come unto Christ. It’s not to shove the gospel in people's
faces when they aren't interested! So it went really well and they said we are
always welcome back. We're thinking of doing a family home evening at their
house sometime soon.
Recently, someone asked me about the best part of being on a
mission. Besides the French food, (kidding), it honestly comes down to the people.
It comes down to charity; that pure love of Christ for another person. There is
no way to even START talking about every person I have met out here and how
they have changed me as a person for the better. I know people are placed in
our paths for a reason. It is our responsibility to share what we know with
them, to help them find that true joy in their lives so they don't feel like
they have to struggle through life alone. I love being able to look into someone's
eyes, a person who is lost and full of fear, and be able to testify to them
with all the strength and power and conviction of my heart and soul … and tell
them there is HOPE. There is a way to get through this life ... through our
Savior Jesus Christ. Seeing people change for the better is, hands down, the
greatest miracle I have been blessed to see while here in Villeneuve D'Ascq.
The solidified faith of the members is inspiring, and makes me want to work
more with the missionaries when I return home.
I know the gospel is true and that the true church of Jesus
Christ has been restored! This is the greatest news and gift we could ever
share with anyone. Look around you - friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, and
extended family members – those who are searching for the unmatchable amount of
joy and blessings that come through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must live
it, we must love it, and we must share it! I love you all and think of you
often; and I appreciate the prayers on my behalf. While some of my days here
are hard, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world. I have such JOY in
my life; the joy that is promised to us through missionary work.
Have a wonderful week and pray for missionary opportunities;
and be willing to act on them!
