I’m at the six month mark! Can you believe it? Time just
seems to be flying! It's sad to think that a year from today I will be finished
with my mission. I've seen so many incredible things and I have changed for the
better. There is still so much work to be done in building the God’s Kingdom
here in France.
This past week we had no power in the apartment!!! Luckily,
we still had running hot water, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Ha! It
reminded me of the power outages that we had all the time in Ohio when there
was even the smallest storm! We all just
made the most of it and were so excited when we would have little spurts of
power. One morning I was trying to blow-dry my hair, and it would come on every
30 seconds for a spurt of 10 seconds or so. It was so funny and I finally just
gave up and decided to accept the fact that I would look like a wet dog that
day.
In the stairwell leading to our apartment we also discovered
a nest of spiders … they are SO huge!!! The size of MY hand! If you know me at
all, you know I am an arachnophobe. Haha! I thought the wolf spiders in our
basement from time to time were bad … no way. Granted, I'm not in Africa or the
desert with camel spiders or tarantulas ... but STILL. We're always scared they
are going to jump on us when we least expect it. So funny!
But overall, Soeur Francis and I had an amazing week! Our
amies are making so much progress! AsTou, our African amie who was raised
Muslim, is getting BAPTIZED on Saturday!!! It's incredible to see how, in a
month and half, the Lord has led and helped us to find, teach, and baptize
someone into His church! I am so grateful for the prompting we heeded to talk
to her and her little boy, Miguel, that day in the street. We have become such
good friends and she really is amazing. We joke about the fact that she will be
called to be Relief Society President one day.
She is just so amazing and super prepared! It was so cute because after
we had a family home evening with her at a member's home, she was just telling
us how excited she was to get baptized. She then turned to us and asked,
"After my baptism, is it okay if I change my name from AsTou to one of the
names from the Book of Mormon?" We laughed and said that normally we don't
do that, but she was welcome to if she really wanted to. We all just giggled
about it. It has really been a miracle to see how she is able to say that she
KNOWS that Christ is her Savior. She keeps all of her commitments and loves
coming to church. She is always talking and mingling with the members and she
really was someone that was prepared. The Lord just needed us to find her after
He put her in our path. Please keep her in your prayers this week; that
everything will go through!! She asked Soeur Francis and I to do a musical
number. It's cool being able to sing and help others feel the Spirit with
uplifting and beautiful music.
We went to Belgium for legality AGAIN! Not sure why, but our
papers didn't go all the way through, so those who entered the mission field at
the same time as me had to all go back. It's always fun catching up with my
mission friends and eating delicious Belgium gauffres (waffles). Soeur Wade, my
MTC companion, and I are close as ever!!!
The elders in our ward passed one of their amies on to us.
Her name is Souhila. She is from Algeria and was raised in a very strict and
practicing Muslim family. We are now teaching her because the male missionaries
are not allowed to teach a single woman alone. She is married, with a two-year-old
son. When she was a young girl in Algeria, she secretly went to Christian
churches. Her older sister found a Bible and they would read it in secret
together. She was forced to go through the traditions of the Muslim faith but
never felt right about it. She then went on to tell us how she would have
dreams of Jesus Christ beckoning her to follow Him and holding her in His arms.
She knew she had to better get to know her Savior, and when she moved to
France, become personally converted to Christianity. Since then, she has just
been searching for the truth and has been praying to God to know which church
was true. Then she met the elders in the street a couple days later … coincidence?
No way. Answers to prayers are real!
Anyway, it has just been super cool to get to know her and
start teaching her the lessons. We have a great connection and I know that we
will be able to start teaching her husband … even if he seemed to be
disinterested during the elders' attempts. When I met him, in my head, I just
had a flash of seeing him in white. I know one day he will accept the gospel
and that his heart will soften to listen to the truthfulness of the gospel.
While we were teaching, Souhila invited us to sit down. She asked if we were
thirsty, and it was obvious that they didn't have much in their sweet and
humble abode. I said I was okay and said “no thank you”. She insisted that we
drink something, so I said a glass of water would be fine. She then said,
"Oh come on, you can at least have a glass of milk!" Here's the thing
about milk in France. Before you use it, it's in a box and is NOT refrigerated.
It’s super thin and watery, and really doesn't have an appealing taste. But I
agreed and said I would love a glass anyway; but then she started heating up
the stove and poured the milk into a pan. Soeur Francis and I looked back and
forth at one another wondering what she was doing. A few minutes later, she
brought over two mugs, filled with this milk. I was not prepared for what came
next … it was WARM milk with scoops of baby formula mixed in!! Hahaha! I was
trying not to laugh as I looked over at my poor companion who HATES milk, as
she's trying to get it down without gagging. Ahhh, it was hilarious. My
suspicion of baby formula was confirmed as I saw her fill her toddler’s sippy cup with the SAME milk she had just
offered us. Ahh, it was CLASSIC. What a sweet lady!
The other day, Soeur Francis and I decided to start our
"Purification". It's an activity or challenge we have been given as
missionaries to give up or put off 10 “natural man” things that will allow us
to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost with us always. We started with a
fast, so that we could decide on what those 10 things would be that would help
us be more obedient and receptive to the Spirit. Afterwards, we were to pray
and promise our Heavenly Father that we will avoid each of those things for the
next 40 days and pray for strength and help to overcome temptation. It will not
be easy, but I know that through faith and our efforts, we will see miracles!!!
Our mission leaders have put a huge emphasis on following
promptings and contacting all those people that we can … in the streets,
metros, buses … everywhere! Sure, there's many excuses as to why we don't
approach someone and start talking to them about the church (like we are too tired,
busy doing something else, we judge and think they aren't interested, etc.) but
it really all comes down to fear. I loved this quote that I found, "He has
not learned the first of life who does not every day surmount a fear." - Ralph
Waldo Emerson
It's so true!! It takes courage to do hard things ... but if
we don't make that effort, we never learn. We never grow. As a missionary, I
have seen how stepping up to the plate and attempting to do those hard things
makes us grow. We are never alone. All we have to do is ask for that desire and
courage to overcome our fear. I've seen it with our amies; sometimes they are
scared to say a prayer out loud for the first time at the close of a lesson, but
we encourage and assist them along the way. And they GROW! They LEARN! It is
the same for us. Sometimes it's scary to accept a new calling, to talk to the bishop
and resolve some problems, to send in those mission papers, etc., but the LORD
will magnify us! I know it's true, as I have seen it in my own life so many
times. I love the scripture, "Doubt Not, Fear Not."
When we go for our morning run and the sun begins to rise, I
get an overwhelming feeling that He is watching over me and guiding my life. I
am having life-changing experiences every day. I am still me, but I am slowly
being molded into the woman the Lord needs me to be. The Lord is with us
wherever we go … this is His work. I love this work and I love these people. I
am so grateful for my family back home and my French families here. I can't
imagine serving anywhere else! The other missionaries here are becoming some of
my very best friends … I learn and draw strength from them, as they do from me.
Thank you for your love and support. I can't believe I only have a year left!
Haha, so much work to do so little time!! Do all you can to have the courage to
change ... the courage to build those around you and bring them closer to our
Savior Jesus Christ!
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!
Soeur Madeline Vance
p.s. Pray for AsTou this week! I hope all goes well with the
bapteme. LOVE YOU!
