Turkey Day and Failed Potatoes

It’s December, the month of Christmas!!! It is such an incredible time of the year. It’s fun being able to learn the many different Christmas hymns and songs here in France. We are having a Christmas party in a few weeks and we have been asked to sing "We Three Kings" for everyone. It’s such a perfect time for the members to invite their non-member friends to this activity, where they can see the church building and get a feel for the members there. I need to do a better job of that when I get home as well … invite your friends to church activities! Our ward has also made plans to go out in groups to do some caroling … singing Christmas hymns in different parts of Paris. I am really excited and I know that music can touch the hearts of people in ways that words cannot.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! We got together and celebrated with our entire zone of missionaries. I was quite impressed by the turkey the elders ended up cooking … it was delicious! Soeur Hill and I, on the other hand, were asked to make funeral potatoes. Lemme tell ya’, those things coulda sent someone to their own funeral! Haha, they turned out so bad because we weren’t able to find half of the ingredients here in France that were needed in the recipe Soeur Hill got from her mom back home. We took a while to make them and were just laughing the whole time because they turned out to be a complete fail!

We had the afternoon to spend together and played a lot of fun games, including different card games, a group animal noise game, and a “werewolf” game. Our district leader shared a spiritual thought on the importance of gratitude and we went around in a circle several times, listing off the many things we were grateful for in our lives. As I reflected and gathered together my thoughts, I realized how many things I really do have in my life. I grew really emotional, as I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, my sweet family and friends, and for the opportunity I have to serve as a full-time servant of the Lord.

Exciting news! My friend Soeur Wynn, who is serving in Villeneuve D'Ascq, told me that one of my old amies, Catherine, got baptized this past weekend! It was such a great feeling knowing I had the chance to teach her for a while when I was there and help participate in her journey of accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ in her life.

We had the chance to have a family home evening with two less-active families in our ward this week. One of them included a family where the wife, Janoy, is a member and her husband is not. She is from Portugal and he is from Angola. He was really touched by the Spirit he felt, and asked us to come back to do several more family home evenings! It was cool to see his change of heart, as this was someone who was very much against the church and the missionaries in the past. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone!

This week, during personal study, I was studying the talk from the last General Conference called, "Hastening the Lord’s Game Plan". During the talk, Elder Nielsen talks about the importance of members and missionaries working together. I invite each of you to figure out what your personal game plan will be and apply each of these three principles into your life, so that you might bring someone closer to Christ this Christmas season.

First, specifically pray to bring someone closer to the Savior and His gospel every day. You could do this by seeing all people as sons and daughters of God, helping each other on their journey home. Think of the new friends you would make!

Second, pray for the missionaries serving in your area and their investigators by name every day. The only way to do this is to greet them, look at their badge, call them by name, and ask them who they are teaching.

Third, invite a friend to an activity in or out of your home. Wherever you go or whatever you do, ponder who would enjoy the occasion and then listen to the Spirit as He directs you.

Right now we are staying in a temporary apartment with four other sister missionaries until we get a new one. It is close quarters, and we sleep on mattresses on the floor, but we try to find fun and joy in all we do. We really have adopted an attitude of gratitude, so thankful for the blessings of the gospel and the sisterhood we share. I know that as we all share the things closest to our hearts with those around us this Christmas season, we will find the most joy of all. The work is going great here! We find out next week about transfers. My fingers are crossed that I will be staying here in Paris Lilas. We are seeing so many miracles and our amies are progressing. Please continue to pray for our amies and for the missionaries in your area!

My heart goes out to all of you. Take care and thank you for all that you do!

Soeur Madeline Vance

Learning Lessons of Gratitude

I still cannot quite express the emotions I am feeling as I reflect on the news I just received ... that my younger sister, Lydia, has submitted her mission papers and will be awaiting her call. When I read it, I just began to cry ... tears of joy ran down my cheeks as I thought about how incredible an opportunity it is for my sweet sister. My mission here in Belgium and France has proved to be such a sweet and spiritual journey. I have changed and grown in ways I can’t even begin to explain. The people I have met and my profound spiritual experiences have impacted my life in more ways that I will ever be able to understand or communicate. I know the Lord answers prayers. I know He has a specific plan for each of us and that if we simply ask Him for counsel or guidance, that He will direct our paths and never lead us astray. I know Lydia will be a powerful servant of the Lord and I will be waiting anxiously to hear about where she is going!

On another note, I want to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Sadly, this great day of feasting and family is not celebrated here in France, but all of the missionaries are getting together and we are doing something special to celebrate. Soeur Hill and I have made it a goal this week to only say prayers of gratitude. It is incredible to see how many blessings you begin to recognize when you start listing them off. I love the scripture found in the Book of Mormon in Alma 34:38; "Live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you." While Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to reflect on our many blessings, I have truly discovered on my mission that when we take more time each day to be grateful for the things we DO have, we forget the things we DON’T have. I know showing gratitude to our Heavenly Father and those around us each day brings us the most happiness.

On Sunday, two couples from Syracuse, Utah were visiting our ward. They came up to us and asked us where we were from and how we were doing. They are members of the church who are on vacation here in Paris. It was neat being able to talk with them, and each of the women gave me a "momma hug"! It was cool because they each said they had children serving missions around the world and I really felt like I was able to get a hug from home. As I was talking with them, I noticed two key things. First, how absolutely terrible my English has gotten to be at times, and second, how much my mission truly has blessed my life. They kept firing question after question about the life of a missionary and I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear as I told them it has been the best experience of my LIFE. I know the Lord has changed my heart and continues to push me to become the woman He needs me to be.

After a busy day at church on Sunday we were headed home for our lunch break. After the 10 minute walk to the metro, we went down the stairs and into the metro station. Out of nowhere my stomach dropped and I said to Soeur Hill, "Oh no, something is not right ... I think I forgot something." She turned to me and said she had the same feeling. We shuffled through our purses and didn’t see anything we were forgetting. Then we decided that there is a reason we feel this way, so maybe we are supposed to find someone and we better head back to the church. As we began the long walk back to the church, thoughts began to enter our minds. “What are we doing? We didn’t forget anything.” I was scanning up and down the streets in search of the person we were supposed to find. Then Soeur Hill turned to me and said, "It’s weird because I feel like we were supposed to come back, but I don’t want to waste our time." Without even thinking, the following words left my lips, "It’s never a waste of time when you are following a prompting."

After I said it, I knew the phrase was not my own. It was the Spirit that guided my thoughts, because once I heard myself say it, it was as if I had just learned a profound lesson. When we are prompted by the Holy Ghost to act, we must ACT … no matter how busy we might think we are or how inconvenient we think it might be.

We picked up our pace and continued further down the road, and passed the church to find an elderly, African woman outside a convenience store, smoking. I approached her and introduced myself. Her name was LiLou. As we began to talk she told us that she was very believing and that she truly knew that Christ was her Savior. It was in that moment that I knew we had come back to talk with her. We later discovered that she had attended church two different times and lived down the street. She was a sweet lady, but was very set in her own beliefs. We ended up teaching and talking with her for 30 minutes and ended our discussion with a prayer. I don’t know if we will be able to meet with her again, but in that moment I was so grateful for that chance I had to testify of the truthfulness of the restored gospel. I know the Lord blesses us when we follow spiritual promptings.

Our amies are continuing to progress. Ammara has been going through a lot lately and she thinks it might be better to push back her baptismal date until December 22^nd. Please continue to keep her in your prayers! We are still working with Samia and her family but they have been a bit busy lately. It has also been amazing to see how many people we are finding through the less-active members! We had a really cool experience with a young woman named Aymmeline! We saw her name on the ward list and called and set up an appointment with her. She is a beautiful French woman, only 22 years old but has a baby girl. After talking with her, we discovered she wasn’t a member at all! She was only on the ward list because she was blessed in the church as a baby! Her mom was home during the lesson and was very touched when we sang "Be Still My Soul". In the middle of the lesson, their friend, who also lives in the apartment, came into the room and sat in on the lesson, listening intently. So we ended up finding three new amies to teach! They are super excited to learn more and were in tears as we testified of Christ and how our message truly will bless them in their lives. Another family we are teaching!!!

Please continue to pray for the sweet people affected by the typhoon in the Philippines. This past Sunday at church, we were talking with Emy, a woman from our ward, and she was telling us about all of the damage and destruction over there. She is Filipino, and has many of her family members over there and she has been so worried about them. Luckily all of the missionaries were safe and accounted for, but there are still so many people suffering and searching for loved ones. My heart goes out to those people there and, while we may not be able to do big things to help, we can always make the time to pray for them.

I know that we are not expected to be perfect, as missionaries or as people. The Lord expects our heart and our best efforts to follow and accept His will. "Your calling is not to be 'successful' in all things; your calling is to be faithful in all things." No matter how hard the trial, no matter how long the wait, the Lord will carry us through. I know He is by our side, because He has been by mine. We must remain faithful to the end; and there is no better way to do that than being grateful and happy!

Thank you for your prayers. The work is accelerating and we truly are seeing miracles here in the France Paris Mission. When we believe in miracles, they happen. I love you all and wish you a wonderful week of gratitude and thanksgiving!

Soeur Madeline Vance

A Week of Reflection

The past week proved to be a week of reflection for me. I am at the halfway point of my mission and I couldn’t help but think all the way back to the day I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo nine months ago. Time has really flown by, and as I thought of all of the people I’ve met and places I’ve served, I couldn’t help but smile as I realized how much eternal joy has truly entered my life because of the experiences I have had while doing the Lord’s work.

Soeur Hill and I moved out of our old apartment and temporarily moved into a new apartment with four other sisters until the mission finds us a new one. With six sisters living together, it can get crowded at times, but it is also such a blast getting to know the other sister missionaries! I am living with Soeur Thibault again, one of my close friends who lived with me in our apartment in Villeneuve D'Ascq. It is neat to come home after a long day and share all of the miracles and/or crazy stories we have had together.

Across the street from our new apartment, there is a store where they sell puppies! They are sitting in a bunch of hay in the front windows playing around all together. There are yorkie puppies jumping all over one another and each time I walk by I just want to buy one! Memories flash back to when we first got Sadie, our little family dog at home, and how much joy that little fireball brought into my life.

Soeur Hill and I decided to get a jump on trying to reactivate the less-active members in the ward here at Paris Lilas. Soeur Hill was looking through the list and felt prompted to call a woman whose name she did not recognize. Her name is Margerette, and when we called her she happily answered, and we set a dinner appointment with her for last Monday night. After taking a while to find the apartment building, we decided to call Margerette to see if we were in the right area. When we did, Margerette answered and said she was actually all the way on the other side of the city at her daughter’s house.

We were kind of frustrated that she had canceled on us like that, since we had confirmed with her the night before. She told us we could still see her at her daughter’s house if we wanted to meet. Not knowing what to do, we decided to stop and pray. Afterward, Soeur Hill and I both felt impressed to get back on the tram and metros and head over to her daughter’s house, even if it meant it was going to take 45 minutes to get there. When we arrived, Margerette met us and led us to her daughter’s door. Margerette is an elderly woman from Haiti and explained that her 34-year-old daughter was going through a hard time, and asked if we could share something that would boost her spirits.

When we walked inside, a beautiful young woman approached us. She introduced herself as Sophie. We all sat down and began our lesson with a prayer. After taking some time to get to know her, she explained to us that her husband had left her about a month ago, even though she was five months pregnant. She said it was really hard for her at the time, but said that the joy and excitement she felt anticipating the birth of her son was the thing that kept her going. Tragically, two weeks later she lost her baby, the very thing that had kept her going through such a hard time in her life.

My eyes filled with tears as I felt this woman’s pain. She seemed so alone and she felt abandoned by God, not understanding why she had to go through such hard things all at once. We followed the Spirit and testified of the power of the Atonement. I testified that there were times in my life where I too felt completely alone. I looked her in the eyes and told her that I knew, without any doubt, that her baby boy was in the hands of the Savior and that one day she really would see him again. Her tearful eyes seemed to fill with light as we told her how the Book of Mormon was going to help her build her faith. We testified that, by reading this powerful book, she would be able to acquire a firm and unshakeable foundation of faith that would help her overcome any trial that came her way. She was on the edge of her seat and began to ask question after question, wanting to know how she could gain the same conviction that we each had that Jesus Christ truly is our Lord and Savior.

It was such an incredible experience for me … being able to share the message of hope and happiness that we had to share with Sophie. I knew that our Heavenly Father was aware of her and had heard her desperate cries. We were led to His precious daughter, to give her the lasting peace that comes through the message of the gospel. She has been reading the Book of Mormon, and is coming to church this week! Keep her in your thoughts and prayers, that she will continue to progress!

Samia and her little French family is continuing to progress. We are actually teaching her sister now too! Halimata and Ammara are on track for baptism as well.

We were able to go to a special missionary conference at Versailles on Saturday morning. It was so neat seeing so many missionaries who are all serving in the Paris area. We had the chance to hear three General Authorities speak … Russel T. Osguthorpe (Sunday School General President), Randall L. Ridd (2^nd Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency) and Elder Patrick Boutoille from the Area Seventy (who I knew personally from serving in Villeneuve DAscq). It was such an uplifting conference filled with ways we can improve as missionaries as we apply the principle of real intent in all that we do!

Last week on preparation day we went to a big catholic cathedral called La Madeleine. We also went to Place de la Concorde and the big Opera House. It was so cool … because we were also able to see the Eiffel Tower in the background the whole time we were walking around. They are starting to decorate the streets with Christmas lights, and it truly makes this holiday season such an exciting time! Later today (Monday), Soeur Hill and I are going to climb up to the top of Arc de Triomphe and stand on the top of it! I’ve heard it is one of the greatest sights in Paris! I have the coolest mission in the world!

I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve. It makes me sad knowing that I only have half of my mission left, but it also motivates me to work harder than I have before. I know that I want to implement the incredible lessons I have learned into my life well after my mission. My perspective has changed … I am blessed with moments where I truly feel I have God’s eyes. As I look around at the people here, it doesn’t matter their station in life, their appearance or difficulties, or where they are from … I see them as my brother or sister, a child of God and someone who has divine potential to return to live with Him again.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers! I love you all and am so grateful to be a servant in the Lord’s vineyard … especially in the greatest city in the world!

Soeur Madeline Vance

p.s. Please remember our amies (Halimata, Ammara, Sophie, Samia and her family) in your prayers.

Finding a Family, Persevering with Gratitude

It is such a blessing to share my missionary life with all of you and I hope I am able to convey the truly miraculous experience I am having here on my mission and my testimony of Jesus Christ. With the very limited time I have on Mondays, I am so grateful for my parents as they take my message and post it with photos on this blog during the week. I really feel that you all are sharing a part of this wonderful experience with me. I would like to wish my dad and Grandma Vance an early HAPPY BIRTHDAY from Paris, France! I love you both so much and will be thinking of you on your special days. Also, I recently received news that Ryan, the son of one of our recent converts (Astou), was baptized this past weekend! It is incredible knowing that our simple efforts as missionaries can end up affecting generations!

Soeur Hill and I had another great week together here in Paris. I am starting to get a feel for the area and am starting to absolutely love it here. Every day is new and exciting, and I know we will be blessed as we continue to go forth in faith to find those who are searching for the truth.

Halimata and Ammara are continuing to progress towards baptism. We set a date with Ammara for November 30^th, so please keep her in your prayers!

On Halloween, Soeur Hill and I met a French woman named Samia. It was dark and there weren’t a lot of people on the streets, but we both felt the sudden prompting to cross the street and talk to the woman who was holding a baby and pushing a stroller. We introduced ourselves and explained our purpose as missionaries … to invite others to come unto Christ. She said she was on her way to the Boulangerie (bakery or sandwich store) and asked that we continue walking with her. She went inside and bought a small treat for her 3-year-old son named Dylan and came back out. Samia then explained that she was Christian and that her ancestors were from Algeria. She said she had so many questions and had felt like she had been spending her entire life searching for the truth. She then invited us to her home, where we were able to share the beginning part of our message of the restored gospel and pray with her.

We were so excited and set another time to meet with her the following week. She called us the day before and said she couldn’t meet with us because her children were sick. We were kind of bummed out and weren’t sure that she was still interested to learn more.

On Saturday of that week, Samia called us out of the blue and asked if we were free to meet with her that afternoon. I was on an exchange with a member in St.Ouen for the day, so Soeur Hill and a member went over and taught her more about the gospel. Samia wasn’t lying … her kids WERE sick! Her little girl had chicken pox all over her face! Soeur Hill told me the lesson went well and that Samia had decided she would start reading The Book of Mormon.

This past Sunday at church … one of those days missionaries dream of … Samia, her husband Ferrah and their two cute children came to church!!! WE HAD AN ENTIRE FRENCH FAMILY AT CHURCH!!! My face hurt from smiling as I couldn’t seem to control the joy I was feeling inside. There was something so powerful and special about seeing a husband, wife, and two little children together in the chapel.

It was such a blessing and I am SO excited to see where this will go. They are such a sweet little family and they have the greatest desire to learn and find the truth. I had the chance to talk with her husband a little bit in the hallway after church and he was asking so many questions, telling me he knew there is one God, and as such, there has to only be one true church. They were admiring the pictures of Christ on the walls and I know they felt the Spirit while they were there.

I know the gospel is true. I know the Lord helps us reach our goals when we are obedient and are doing all we can to do His work. Please pray for this sweet family! I am not sure what will happen but we will continue to teach them about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in hopes of one day helping them be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity!

"Do your best; your very, very best. Say your prayers and work hard and leave the harvest to the Lord." - President Gordon B. Hinckley

Love you,

Soeur Madeline Vance

23, rue du Onze Novembre

78110 Le Vesinet – FRANCE