Shoulder to Shoulder

This week was full of adventures and miracles! I love Soeur Doyle. She is so energetic and has just plunged into this work with me. The members and our amis love her so much already. We get along wonderfully, are working hard, and find ourselves laughing a lot during the day.

TODAY I HAD CHIPOTLE!!! Who knew that it would taste so heavenly after so long?! The other day, a sister asked me what kind of food I liked, and I started talking about Mexican food, such as Cafe Rio and Chipotle. She laughed and said, "You know, there’s a Chipotle here in Paris …" I WAS SO MAD!!! No one even told me! Haha, it was delicious, and so worth it!

This week we have two exchanges planned: with the Versailles sisters and then we will be heading out to Rouen, Normandy (where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake!) I am excited to head out to these areas and serve alongside the sisters there. There is incredible history here in France … I feel so lucky to be a part of it!

We had the neat opportunity to take the brand new missionaries out contacting! These were sisters and elders who had just arrived to our mission from the Madrid MTC! Many of them came running up to me and said, "Oh, it’s YOU! We were just with your sister, Hermana Vance, and she told us to look for you!! She is doing so well. She is super happy and is getting really good at Spanish. She loves you so much." What a tender mercy.

I got to go out with a missionary who knew my sister very well from the Madrid MTC. Her name is Soeur Liaboeuf. We hit the streets of Paris and started talking with everyone in sight. I didn’t understand why she seemed pretty shy and intimidated at first, but then I realized that she had JUST ARRIVED HERE, haha. What was brand new and a big challenge for her, had crossed my mind as nothing but natural. We ended up seeing a huge miracle when we met a woman named Messe. She was believing and told us how Christ has been that rock for her in her life. Soeur Liaboeuf summoned up her courage and testified from her heart the love she has for this gospel. I was so proud of her and the words which left her mouth were so powerful! Messe let us leave her with a prayer right there in the street and agreed to come to church on Sunday!  

We are continuing to find more and more people to teach! A less active member who is a baker here in Paris simply invited his neighbor to come to church, and she came! Her name is Josara and she is from Brazil! Now we are teaching her! She is searching on her own to grow closer to Christ and is interested to learn more! It’s that easy! Miracles happen!               

Michele is still working to stop smoking. She has come such a long way and truly is a different and better person. At times I have to remind myself of her potential and the love I have for her, even when she frustrates me. I’m sure it’s how Heavenly Father feels when He sees His children make wrong decisions or feel apathetic about His gospel. I know with time and patience that Michele will come through. I can’t help but love her when she laughs and smiles, thanking me for being one of her only friends. Every time we go over to teach her, she has a new dress or skirt made for me. Ha, I think she likes it when I play mannequin and have to try them all on for her. She really is so sweet. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and reads chapters and chapters from it every day. It’s inspiring. I know that all we can do is continue to lead her along, to do ALL WE CAN to help her grow closer to Christ, and believe that God really is in charge.

Michele came to a family home evening with the Maillot family. I love this family … they remind me a lot of my own family! For dinner we ate shrimp, and to help prepare the meal, I actively participated in reaching into a big bucket of shrimp, then helped by popping off the heads (with eyeballs) and tails of them myself. Yes … I was laughing the whole time as juice was squirting all over me.

We had a great night together and talked about the Savior’s Atonement, and how it truly is for all of us … saints and sinners.

I love the verse found in the Book of Mormon in Moroni 10:32,

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ..."

When we put God first we are blessed. We must love Him with all that we are, and give Him our whole hearts. It is Christ who can change us to be the person He knows we can become. I love the gift of the Atonement, how it truly enables us to change for the better.

Soeur Doyle and I are seeing so many miracles. We continue to work towards our mission goal of 125 baptisms and are preparing for the coming of our new mission President, President Babin. I know this is the Lord’s work. It’s not always easy, but it really is the greatest thing. We are never alone when we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Father in Heaven. My family and I are reading the Book of Mormon together before I get home in August! Those who would like to join in, I encourage you to do so! It’s a book that has changed my life, and brought me closer to Christ than anything else.

https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#a-book-of-mormon-story

Passez une bonne semaine! Je pense a vous! Bisous!

Soeur Madeline Vance

Tout Autour de la Tour Eiffel

Transfer News! I am staying in Paris! My new companion is Soeur Doyle, a sister who has been out for a year or so. It should be great! Soeur Wynn is leaving me, haha, and going to Angers, which will probably be her last city before we … are transferred to a city in the United States! I am so grateful for her example and leadership qualities. It was always our dream to serve together, and we sure did! We saw so many miracles, I will forever be grateful for our time together! Also, my last companion, Soeur Kohlert just got transferred to Villeneuve Dascq!!! That’s where I started my mission! I am so excited for her to meet all of the wonderful people I grew to love there!

This week we decided to change things up and just be tourists and spend every chance we could around the Eiffel Tower. No, I'm kidding, it just so happened that a lot of our activities and work we were all in places around the Eiffel Tower! It was always in view and we felt so spoiled! We had a district meeting picnic with a group of missionaries in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was really funny because it was pouring rain, but we were protected in the gazebo we were in. We talked about recognizing God’s hand in our daily lives and how that truly gives us the strength to press forward. The Spirit was so strong as we each shared personal experiences we have had about how we know with a surety that God is aware of us and knows us personally.

Later in the week, we had lessons at this same park with our amie, Caroline. She is a beautiful, middle-aged French woman with an adorable yorkie dog who tags along every time. She also has a 20-year-old daughter who is a professional ballerina here in France! She had a serious audition this past week, and we all prayed for her, and she was chosen to be one of three dancers selected out of 300 dancers to perform in the Grand Theater in Bordeaux! Prayer and hard work definitely pays off! Caroline is interested in feeling a stronger connection to God in her life and has been reading the Book of Mormon! She asks great questions and even came to church on Sunday! It was Mother’s Day here in France, and Caroline was touched by the messages shared on the importance of developing motherly qualities. I’m excited to see how she progresses!

We also did a Helping Hands service project with the ward, picking up trash in the beautiful park surrounding the Eiffel Tower. We were in normal street clothes, and I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to sport my Paris Saint Germain jersey. It was fun, and there were even a few people who came up and questioned us about our nametags.

Our baptisms with Michele and Sandrine didn’t go through this past weekend. We found ourselves a bit disappointed at times, but it was incredible to see how the Lord blessed us in other ways. Michele is still working on giving up smoking and Sandrine wanted to wait a few more weeks, which is fine. We are excited to keep working with them towards their new dates coming up in June!

One morning, Soeur Wynn woke up and told me she had a dream. She told me of a woman named Madame Dedenis, and how she felt like we needed to pass by and see her. She seemed somewhat hesitant about going, but I reminded her that if she felt prompted to do something, that we needed to do it. We were pretty booked for the day with appointments, but we decided we would go by anyway. When we finally stopped by, it was the end of the day, around 8:30pm. We didn’t have much time, and right before we arrived, Soeur Wynn told me the story of this 60-year-old French woman, Madame Dedenis. She had referred herself online to receive the missionaries, as she was interested in genealogy, but after a few lessons with the sisters, she stopped completely. She wanted nothing more to do with the church and none of the missionaries knew why.

When we knocked on her door, she smiled and let us right in. Soeur Wynn turned to me with a huge surprised look on her face, not believing how willing she was to let us in! We walked through cluttered pathways, squeezing through stacks and stacks of books to sit on her bed in this single room apartment. I introduced myself, and joked saying, "Do you like to read?" She laughed and started to tell us all about her love for learning and love of God. We weren’t sure where to start, but we simply asked how she was doing.

All of a sudden, the room went quiet. Madame Dedenis, turned to us with tears in her eyes and said, "I have cancer." My heart broke for this perfect stranger, and I couldn’t help but tear up as I heard her weep. We said we were so sorry, and asked her when she had found out. She replied, "About 40 minutes ago. I came home straight from the doctor. It’s such hard news, you know? I can’t tell anyone … my aged mother has severe health problems and couldn’t take the news. My sweet daughter has a family of her own, and I can’t worry her with my problems. But it feels so good to tell somebody. How did you know to come? I will forever thank my God that you came."

Soeur Wynn and I turned to each other with our jaws dropped! We had no idea! Madame Dedenis continued to confide in us and we testified of the peace we can all find through the Atonement of Christ. It was incredible! She kept thanking us for coming and tears of joy fell down her face as she hugged us goodbye.

As we walked home, Soeur Wynn and I just shook our heads, in awe of the miracle that had just occurred. It was sprinkling rain so we pulled out our umbrellas and began talking about how we know that God truly does love his children, and how perfectly timed our visit was with her. As we turned to enter the metro, our eyes caught the most beautiful thing: a rainbow, gleaming across the sky. I couldn’t help but smile as I realized that our Heavenly Father had left his celestial signature to remind us that He really is there, and that He loves ALL of His children!

I know there are no such things as coincidences. The Lord has a plan for each of us and plays a very large role in our everyday lives. Whether we choose to see those blessings or not is up to us. I know that He knows me by name. He truly is our Father and He knows what is best for us!

I am so excited for this upcoming transfer, to be working with my new companion, Soeur Doyle! Our mission is still shooting for our goal of 125 baptisms before the end of June! We are at 61! I know that our amies in Paris that are preparing for their baptism can be a part of this inspired goal! Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, emails and letters. I have never felt more love and support than at this time. I LOVE MY MISSION! Have a wonderful week!

Soeur Madeline Vance

Synergy ... Blessed for Her Service

Ever since I hit my year mark this past February, I flip open my old journals every day from the beginning of my mission and read my entry from that same day the year before (today I read from the end of May 2013). It has been such a blessing to read my frustrations at the time as a young missionary, and how I slowly progressed to become the young woman and missionary I am today. Reflecting on those times, has helped me see how much I have grown, and how certain experiences touched my heart back then. I encourage all of those who are either serving or planning to serve to do the same, as it truly has been a rewarding and amusing experience for me!

On Tuesday, I did an exchange with a missionary named Soeur Hosking, as she came to Paris for the day. That morning as we were setting goals together, and I couldn’t help but think of my sister, Lydia who was entering the Madrid MTC that very day. I kept a prayer in my heart for Lydia that all would go well, and knew that I would feel a difference knowing she was out here in the mission field with me.

We made goals to testify from our hearts and really mean everything we said to others. We wanted to create an atmosphere for others to have a spiritual experience when talking with us. We set out for the day to do some finding, and the second we stepped on the metro Soeur Hosking started talking with a woman in red. She explained that she is from the United States and that she is learning French, and told them about Jesus Christ and the joy that it brings into her life. I was super impressed! I was not expecting such boldness from such a young missionary. I joined in and we had a great conversation with the woman, leaving her with a card. We switched metros several different times, and EVERY time this young missionary was turning to her right and to her left, opening her mouth and sharing this wonderful message with everyone around her! She was so friendly and loving and the people seemed to positively respond every time. There was one moment when Soeur Hosking and I were sitting on different sides of the metro car, each engaged in different gospel conversations with a small group of people! It was incredible. I felt something special in that moment, as I prayed for the right words to say, only to look over and see Soeur Hosking listening intently to those sitting across from her. Synergy. Unity.

The miracles started flooding in. We had plans of returning home for lunch, but every time we passed our stop to get off on the metro line, we were each too engaged in a great gospel conversation to get up and leave. We must have rode that same metro line 5 or 6 times!!!

We saw so many miracles, including the chance I had to meet a woman from Madrid! I was able to testify of living prophets and also tell her that my sister had just went to the missionary training center there to prepare to become a missionary just like me!

Soeur Hosking later complimented a young woman named Nina on her cute coat, and we got off the metro and taught her a whole lesson right then and there! She was super touched by the prayer we had with her and even came to church on Sunday!! She said, "When I came to church this morning, I was not expecting this ... but what I’ve come to realize that this is the church I have been searching to find all of my life."

The Lord poured down so many miracles on us that day!!! At the end of the exchange, Soeur Hosking and I just looked at each other in awe … speechless. Right before she left she said, "We did all we could today. We had faith, we believed in miracles, and the Lord blessed us with them. But you know what? It’s because of your SISTER that we saw those miracles today. We are being blessed for her service." How grateful I am for the example of my younger sister! Synergy!

Our amie, Michele, who is preparing for her baptism this Sunday, is such a sweetheart! She latches onto the Book of Mormon for spiritual strength and is fully engaged in the 'Stop Smoking' program! On Monday, she went the WHOLE DAY without smoking A SINGLE CIGARETTE! We are talking about a woman who goes through a pack a day! She finally understands that this program, which includes prayer, scripture study, a whole lot of faith and vitamin C, actually works!!! We are doing our best to support her every day so she can be ready. She even hand-made skirts for Soeur Wynn and me to wear for her baptism! She is so inspirational … seeing this woman enter the waters of baptism will be a really victory. She has probably had the roughest past life I have ever seen. It has been full of persecution and trials, and she needs nothing more than the liberation and pure joy that comes from the sacred covenant of baptism. Please keep her in your prayers this week!

I love it here. I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world. It will be hard having President and Soeur Poznanski leave next month, to be replaced by a new mission president, but I will forever be grateful for the huge and eternal impact they have had on my life. I know our new mission president and his wife will be just as inspired and will be able to lead this mission to rise to a new level as well. I feel a real energy that drives me to give it my all every day. During my interview with Soeur Poznanski yesterday, she related a mission to a marathon. She said, "Soeur Vance, you have been running a marathon. You have been giving it your all. But, what happens at the end of a marathon?" I went on to explain that the runners, completely deflated and exhausted and dragging, just trying to keep going. She then told me of a story of two brothers in her family who ran a marathon together. They stayed in close range with one another the entire time. Soeur Poznanski stood near the finish line with about 100m to go, and just saw these men pale in the face, looking sickly and heaving from exhaustion. She was worried that they were even going to collapse before they made it to the finish line! Then she saw something that has yet to leave her mind or heart. As these two brothers hit the 50m line, they turned to each other, smiled, and set off sprinting. In spite of their extreme fatigue and failing muscles, these two brothers sprinted through the finish line. They claimed their personal victory of giving it their all, up until the end!!! All I could think of at that point was Soeur Wynn and me, and our efforts to do EVERYTHING we can, to give it our all, up until the day we step on that plane.

I love my mission! I love this gospel! Have a great week!

Soeur Madeline Vance