Feeling the Love

Helloooooo! As of this week, I have been on French soil for one whole year! I also had to sign up for my BYU classes for this fall term … so weird to think about.

In France, on April 1^st (April Fools or Poisson d'Avril), kids have the tradition of taping colored, paper fish to each other's backs without them knowing. It’s kind of like what bullies do in America with their "kick me" signs, haha.

Soeur Kohlert followed up on our Easter finding efforts and found five new amies this week, one of them a whole new family to teach! I always do my best to follow the counsel of our mission President. When we do, we are blessed!

Our three amies with baptismal dates in the coming weeks are still progressing. Isabelle felt reassured after we explained more about baptism and is looking forward to wearing white on her special day! Alphonsine and Jenny are continuing to push forward with faith despite the seemingly endless opposition they are facing. Alphonsine is one of the most courageous people I have met ... she is determined to do what the Lord would have her do, and I think the Adversary knows that too! Please keep Jenny and Alphonsine in your prayers this week.

We made a detailed STOP SMOKING plan with a less active young woman in the ward. To support her, we made a pact with her that we would give up sweets ... it’s nothing like a smoking addiction, but it ain't gonna be easy, haha!

We made the mistake of thinking that our phone would switch automatically with the time change brought about with “spring forward”. Whoops! We woke up late on Sunday morning and were super confused, not knowing we were going to be very late for church. Then members started calling us wondering where we were and we started to panic! Throwing on clothes and grabbing our stuff, we ended up running out the door and around the city to meet one of our amies and bring her to church. It was stressful, but it was incredible to see how calm I felt in the middle of it all. We just ended up laughing and ran to church as fast as we could. I’m sure it was obvious why we were late, given our appearance.

I was able to have a really neat experience at church on Sunday. I saw a teenage girl sitting a few rows up from me; she had long blonde hair and I had no idea who she was. The elders told us there was a girl from Sweden at church, so I figured it had to be her. After the meeting, I went over and talked with her. She knew English perfectly and she introduced herself to me. Her name was Hilda. She was a 17-year-old girl from Sweden, here in France for the week doing an exchange. She was staying with a French family. Hilda is a member of the church, and had looked online to try and find where the church was here in France. She summoned up the courage to ask her "French mom", Sylvie, if she could go to her church on Sunday. Sylvie agreed to drive her to church.

When she went to drop Hilda off at our church building, to Hilda's surprise, Sylvie got out of the car, and locked the doors. She said, "You know what? I’m going to come to your church with you." AND THERE SHE WAS!

I had the privilege of sitting next to Hilda and Sylvie during sacrament meeting and watched as Sylvie's eyes filled with tears, being overcome by the Spirit. It happened to be Fast and Testimony meeting and each of the testimonies that were shared by the members in our ward were so powerful. After the meeting, I took some time get to know Sylvie and she said, "Hilda is an angel. It has been such a wonderful experience to have her in our home. She is always so happy, and there is a light in her. And now, after coming to your church today, I am starting to understand why."

Sylvie felt a difference in our church and was so touched by the members' efforts to talk with her and make her feel welcome. She said, "I can feel the love here. I want to come back." I ended up getting both Hilda's and Sylvie's contact information, and Sylvie said we were welcome to come to her house sometime to teach her more about what we believe! I was so impressed by this young woman's example. Even though it may have seemed like a little thing to her, Hilda's example and desire to attend church, led to Sylvie’s chance to meet the church and members there.

This upcoming weekend is General Conference! I am so excited to hear the words of our living prophet and apostles. I know they receive direct revelation from God for us in our day. Tune in at www.lds.org! I know Christ is at the head of this church. I feel so blessed to be serving at this time.

Love you all, have a wonderful week!

Soeur Madeline Vance

Caring for the One

We made it! The spring season is finally here! There are still days when it is pretty cold, but it’s relieving to know that it can only get warmer from here! Having warm weather here in France makes me less jealous that my family is now soaking up the sun in Florida for spring break!

While the spring weather may bring rain, there are miracles are pouring down too! Soeur Kohlert and I had another incredible week. It started off with a Zone Conference in Paris where President Poznanski, his wife, and the Assistants presented our new mission goal! We are now working towards 125 baptisms before our new mission president comes this summer. That is at least one baptism per companionship. President Poznanski testified of the absence of barriers when we put our trust in the Lord. I have been blessed to see us break records and reach our goals as a mission over the course of time I have been here, and I am excited to work towards this new objective!

Soeur Kohlert and I have been taking the "Easter training" we received at Zone Conference to heart, and are now focusing more than ever on taking advantage of this Easter season. Our new approach is to testify of the resurrection of Christ and to remind everyone around us that He LIVES! Too many people focus on the terrible treatment and death of Christ; so much so that they forget that three days later the tomb was empty, that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was resurrected!

We are setting goals with many families in the ward to organize family home evenings with their friends the week before Easter. Many families are super excited about this goal and are starting to talk to their friends about it, and plan on inviting them to church for the Easter service! I am so impressed by the members here and I hope I never forget their examples of endless service and faith, and that I will continue to apply that same mindset to my life as a member-missionary in my future family.

I was really touched by the opportunity I had to go on a "split" visit with the Relief Society President, Soeur Seube. The Relief Society is the oldest and largest women's organization in the world. Its purpose is to build faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and help those in need. It was so neat to get an inside look at her role as president and see how she goes about doing her monthly visits to sisters in need.

We went to a nearby government housing building to visit a sister in the ward. Soeur Seube immediately began to ask this fellow sister how she was doing … physically, and spiritually. I watched carefully as Soeur Seube took a real interest in the concerns and needs for this other sister, as she explained her health problems and struggles while going through her divorce. My heart ached as I listened to this woman cry about her family being torn apart, and not having that close tie with her children that she had once had, before she was forced to leave them. Soeur Seube and I listened carefully and testified to this sister of the love that her Heavenly Father has for her. We reminded her of her divine worth and value and encouraged her to see that same value in herself. It was a miracle to see the change in this woman’s countenance as we built her confidence and reminded her that she was, indeed, a daughter of God.

I know that visiting teaching is inspired. We are asked to take care of our fellow sisters to build them up and help them through their trials. We are the Lords hands, and are here to comfort those in need of comfort. I hope to always remember to have that Christ-like charity that I saw from Soeur Seube when I go about serving my fellow sisters.

Our amie, Isabelle (the one the elders passed to us) came to the Boyault's with us for a family home evening! The Boyaults have two adorable girls, who are always so happy to see the "sister missionaries". The number of dolls, barbies, and stuffed animals in their play area was more than I have ever seen! In the middle of our lesson on the Restoration with Joseph Smith, Lea yelled out, "Isabelle, you are so pretty! Like a princess!" So cute. We set a baptismal date with Isabelle, for April 12^th, and are shooting to do it the same day as Alphonsine and Jenny!

At the end of the appointment, a middle-aged man, who does house work on the Boyault’s home, came barging in. He greeted the whole family in the traditional French way … bises (or kisses on the cheeks). To be polite, he went to greet us as well … Soeur Kohlert wasn’t paying attention, and the man went in … and a startled Soeur Kohlert said, "Wait, wait, I can’t! I can’t!" Smack, smack! TOO LATE! Kissed on both cheeks! Hahahaha, I was dying laughing. Luckily I kept my distance and stuck out my arm for a firm handshake to greet the poor gentleman. I have YET to be "bised" by a man on my mission ... let’s hope it stays that way!

Alphonsine and Jenny are progressing tremendously. There was a little setback because Alphonsine's brother got involved and was not happy about the fact that they wanted to join our church, which he thinks is a cult. But Alphonsine calmly replied that she knew it was true. She later told us, "God would never lead me down the wrong path. I trust Him. He loves me." We later talked about the Book of Mormon and she explained how good she feels when she reads it or prays about it. She said, "Nothing tells me it’s not true. I will keep going forward until the Lord Himself stops me." SHE IS SO AWESOME!! Not only that, she has been inviting ALL of her friends to show up for our appointments to learn as well. I love her. She is totally prepared, and is going to be a stellar member missionary … she already is!

Even though we have so much to do at times, and are constantly searching, searching, searching for new amies, we have really gained a testimony of taking time for the “One” ... to look across the table during a lesson and look deep into someone’s eyes, searching to know their worries, fears, dreams and struggles … even when much goes unsaid. I know that if we search and pray to know the needs of that one person we are with, that the Holy Ghost will reveal to us how we can help them in that moment. We are not on earth to rush through life, passing those who struggle alongside us. Christ Himself showed the perfect example of leaving the 99 sheep and going after the lost one. We must do the same. As we do, we will be blessed and will develop eternal and lasting friendships with those whom we serve. "Jesus Christ showed us how to minister - how to watch over and strengthen one another. His was a ministry to individuals, one by one."  There is a great, short church video of the Parable of the Lost Sheep:

https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/jesus-declares-the-parable-of-the-lost-sheep?lang=eng

As I say every week, I truly love my mission. I feel so blessed and can feel the Savior looking after me, with my own weaknesses and faults, but turning to Him daily to become more like Him.

Have a fantastic week! Love you all!

Soeur Madeline Vance

Fruits of Our Labors

A great week here in Saint Quentin! We were busier than ever and had our hands full of things to do! But it was wonderful … I would rather be exhausted with the many things to do and people to see instead of the other way around. The work is really booming here! The chapel was FULL on Sunday! Even the members were commenting on the numbers of amies there, and I think it’s really getting them excited to work with us!

This past week we did a super fun service project at the bishop's house! We were so excited when they asked us to come and help them with their yard work because it’s always the elders who get asked to do that stuff! Our service projects usually consist of cleaning the house ... boring!

Anyway, it was a beautiful morning … the sun was shining and it was even hot outside! We walked to the back of their house and into their garden. We threw on some gloves and started clearing out the weeds that were as high as my waist! Soeur Kohlert and I started ripping things out of the ground like men!! Haha, my mom is a pro when it comes to yard work … she taught me how to work and do it right! We really started clearing things out and making progress. Clearing out baby tree stumps and ripping weeds out by their roots! It was so much fun … it didn’t even feel like service! It’s nice being able to change things up a bit, even if my back was wrecked afterward, haha!

Our miracle for the week was Alphonsine and Jenny. Several weeks ago, Soeur Kohlert and I found ourselves doing a lot of finding. We had just dropped a precious family that the previous sisters had been seeing and having just arrived in the new area, we felt as if we had no one to teach. We decided to go out and find some new amies! However, it can be discouraging at times going door to door for hours without really finding anyone who will listen. We continued anyway, and saw small miracles along the way! One night, after a long day, we knocked on a door with a family inside ... Alphonsine’s family! She said they were busy but that we could come back another day and pray with them.

We followed up with them later in the week and no one was home. We've come across situations like this before, but we felt impressed that we needed to keep trying. After passing by again, we were able to meet with her. The first thing I noticed about Alphonsine was how rock solid her faith was in the Lord. She told us about the many trials in her life, including a difficult divorce and raising her three children alone. Through it all, she said she has relied on the Lord to pull her through. We taught about the Restoration and she just seemed to understand everything ... it was incredible!! She said, "That makes sense ... we've always had prophets to guide us, why wouldn’t we have them today?" We were able to testify of how we came to know the truth of these things for ourselves and encouraged her to pray to know if Joseph Smith was a true prophet.

The next few visits we kept meeting with her and she told us she had been reading in the Book of Mormon and knew it was true! We were reading the summary of a chapter in the Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 11) and asked Alphonsine what she was looking forward to learning about that day. Soeur Kohlert and I weren’t sure it was the right time to set a date with her for baptism, but Alphonsine just started going off about the importance of baptism and how she knew she needed to follow Christ and do it. My jaw literally dropped, and I even let out a laugh because I could not believe how well everything was going! SO WE SET A DATE for April 19^th! 

We also met her 17-year-old daughter, Jenny, and started teaching her as well! They both have the desire to follow Christ and we set a baptismal date with each of them for April 12^th! Jenny also came to the missionary ping-pong activity, and I was so grateful to the awesome young women in the ward who took her right in and became her friends.

I know that there are prepared people out there, just waiting to find the truth. It was funny because I was reminded several times by many different people this week to "teach those that will receive you". I know that when we focus our efforts on those who are truly ready to repent and change their lives for the better, that the Lord will lead us right to them. We don’t always see the direct fruits of our efforts, but with time, perseverance and patience, they always come.

In Alma 26:31 it says, "Now behold, we can look forth and see the fruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are many; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us."

I know the Lord is aware of us and loves us. No matter the length of the road we are called upon to travel, there is always hope that can be found through the gospel of Christ. Have a wonderful week! Travel safe to those of you going somewhere awesome for Spring Break! I love you, and long live FRANCE!

Soeur Madeline Vance

Savior, Redeemer of My Soul

It’s sunny here in Saint Quentin! People are out and about on the streets with smiles on their faces! It’s such a blessing to go out and feel the sun and see everyone so happy!

Last week we had the chance to go to Coucy for our Pday and see the beautiful remains of the castle there. It was super cool! We took tons of photos and the view from the top, down onto the French countryside, was breathtaking. The castle was actually built in 920 by an archbishop to protect his territory there. During a war in 1653 the castle was broken up and abandoned. Many architects worked to preserve the ruins, but in 1917 the German army destroyed the four towers ... there’s some fun French history for you! I feel so blessed to be serving in a really awesome country!

We had a wonderful family home evening later that day with the Membre family. They are incredible! I have really enjoyed getting to know the members of the ward on my mission. I take time to ask them about their conversion stories as well as the story of how the couple met one another. I find that as I do so, I grow closer to them and gain a deeper love for them. It gives me the desire to work with them and become like them one day in my own family! I am really impressed by the Membre's efforts to share the gospel with their friends. They explained to us all they have been doing to introduce their good friends to the church and how they are planning to set a time to introduce their friends to us so we can have a family home evening together! It’s an amazing feeling to know that the members trust us with their close friends, and it puts a responsibility on us to do our best to teach to them with the Spirit, according to their needs!

Tuesday night we played soccer with little Logan and his friend Dylan! Alexandra was supposed to come but she was not feeling well. We begged her to let the boys come, and they did! We met up with a huge group from the ward at an indoor soccer place, with tons of turf fields! Seeing the lights and even the smell of artificial grass gave me the biggest desire to PLAY! Sometimes I forget how much I love that game, haha. The ward had rented out two fields: one for a game of 3v3 and the other for 6v6. A group of men and experienced players were ready to start their game on the 6v6 field, so I figured I would just have fun on the other one with little Logan and Dylan. Then the bishop ran over and said, "Hey, what are you doing? You’re playing with us!" I laughed, and told him I might be rusty. When I walked on the field, a bunch of the men gave me weird and confused looks and started asking each other what I was doing on the field. I just figured I would do my best to keep the game flowing, not step on anyone’s toes and not get hurt. But then our bishop yells out, "Don’t worry, she’s GOOD!" I got red in the face, and reminded him he had never even seen me play before! He responded, "I know. But you better play well. All of my non-member friends are here. No pressure." Hahaha!

It ended up being a blast!! By the end of it they were passing the ball to me and I even managed to score a few goals! Soeur Kohlert was playing with Logan and Dylan and every time I looked over they were running like crazy and laughing so hard! It was so much fun, and I had the chance to talk with some of our bishop’s friends! I think it’s always good for other people to see that we, as missionaries, are still normal people … and that SISTERS can PLAY!!!

Isabela continues to progress … we had a “light bulb” moment with her when she finally understood the restoration of Christ's church on the earth through Joseph Smith. We had been repeating it over and over in the simplest manner that we could think of, but she still had the most confused look on her face. I said a silent prayer in my heart that she would be able to understand. After trying one more time, with images explaining the First Vision, her face lit up and Isabela was just BEAMING!!! She excitingly cried, "I understand, I understand! Thank you sisters, I understand! I am going to be a part of the true church of Christ!!" She grabbed us and hugged us with so much force, thanking us for our patience and time in helping her learn.

The elders also passed one of their amies they had been teaching on to us. Her name is Isabelle. She is a 24-year-old French girl who is super excited to learn! She writes up summary pages of what she learned and liked during her reading in the Book of Mormon. She has the desire to be baptized and even came to church! We are planning on setting a date with her this week!

The elders had a baptism on Saturday and had asked that we do a musical number. We didn’t have too much time to practice, but it ended up going well! I sang one of the verses solo! Ha! It was my first time doing so in a group of people. Soeur Kohlert played the violin and an elder and I sang the song from the film, “17 Miracles”, called, "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul". The lyrics to the song hit me every time:

Savior, Redeemer of my soul,

Whose mighty hand hath made me whole,

Whose wondrous pow'r hath raised me up

And filled with sweet my bitter cup!

What tongue my gratitude can tell,

O gracious God of Israel.

Never can I repay thee, Lord,

But I can love thee. Thy pure word,

Hath it not been my one delight,

My joy by day, my dream by night?

Then let my lips proclaim it still,

And all my life reflect thy will.

O'errule mine acts to serve thine ends

Change frowning foes to smiling friends.

Chasten my soul till I shall be

In perfect harmony with thee.

Make me more worthy of thy love,

And fit me for the life above.

After we sang, the Bishop got up to speak and expressed his gratitude for the power of music and thanked us for our special number. I know the Savior has helped me during every step I have taken in my life thus far. Sometimes we don’t understand why we are called to pass through certain trials or difficulties, but the Lord does. He can see the end from the beginning. He is the one who directs our paths. I feel blessed to be here in France and thank my Heavenly Father every day for the incredible experiences I am having. I hope you all have the chance to do the same and soak up the sun this spring season! You are in my thoughts in prayers wherever you may be.

Love you!

Soeur Madeline Vance

The link below describes the story of Francois Verny!!! He was in my ward in Paris Lilas! I actually spent Christmas with him and a member family!! I had no idea that they had made a clip about his conversion until my parents sent it to me. He is just the sweetest! I know that the Lord answers prayers and puts people in our path for a reason.

https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/an-incredible-meeting-an-answered-prayer?cid=HPFR030714548&im=true&lang=eng