Well, this week has been a little slow, seeing as how most of France in on vacation, so no one seems to be home, but we're hoping that this next week will be better. Something that we are excited about is our friend Kashmira. Usually, we've only been able to see Kashmira on Sunday nights, at Fatoumia's house (a member). And even then, it was not even every Sunday. But now that Kashmira has just moved into a different apartment, she feels more comfortable letting us come over and has really opened up to us (also, the Elders helped her move for 3 hours, so that really touched her). We were able to see her 3 times within the last 10 days, which has been an absolute miracle. She still has to work Sundays, so that's something we're working on, but she's still progressing. Tonight we're going to teach them the Plan of Salvation again. I love Kashmira so much, haha, and it's so funny, we can't ever leave without her giving us something to eat. Haha, in fact, last week, we had dinner at the Lasa's, and then went and visited Kashmira, where we were force-fed another dinner. Soeur Wynn's petit body doesn't always do well with excessive amounts of food, so, in the end, Soeur Wynn ended up feeling absolutely sick. We had to end up calling up the Lasa family AGAIN, to see if they could take us home before Soeur Wynn exploded. Haha, I felt bad so bad for her, but also couldn't hide my stifled laughter. We also had another funny story this weekend, in fact, we can almost compare it to the story of Cinderella. You see, going to a baptism is kind of like a "ball". And it turns out, there was a "ball" last weekend. But only those companionships who were bringing investigators with them were allowed to go to the "ball". However, Soeur Wynn and I, despite all our pleadings and offerings (ok, mostly it was asking and praying), were left without any amies who could go, and therefore, we ourselves couldn't go. And to make matters worse, we had been asked to clean the chapel at Nogent the very same morning as the baptism. So there we were, in our regular work clothes, cleaning the chapel, while an hour away, all the other companionships were getting ready for the party. We tried to make the best of our situation by working hard and trying to see the bright side of things, but really, we were SO bummed out. And then, at noon, as we were nearing the end of our labors, and knowing that the baptism was just about to begin, we got a phone call from our 'Fairy Godmother'. Of course, the absolute best thing would have been if it was an amie, saying that they were ready to go. But instead, it was Elder Hill, telling us that they really wanted more people at the baptism, and so we had permission to change into our gowns, and get over there as quickly as possible. Our pumpkin carriage was actually the car of one of the members, who took us halfway to Torcy (where the baptism was), we then took a train, and then RAN to the Torcy Chapel, where we were greeted with smiling faces and many desserts.We tried to make ourselves useful, and of course, the most important, make sure the man who had just been baptized felt very welcomed to the church. And the best part of all, was that a girl named Luz, the friend of a member whom we'd been trying to meet for sometime, was there! Miracle! And so it goes, that thanks to diligence, prayers, and friends, Cinderella made it to her ball, had a wonderful time, and even made a new friend with whom she might be able to share the gospel... And they lived happily ever after.
Well, I hope you like that story. We got a good chuckle out of it. We also had a baptism for one of the children in out ward yesteday. It was the Bishop's son getting baptized, and he'd invited many non-member friends to come and participate in his son's baptism, so it was awesome as we had the occasion to talk to a few people, also, I got to try alchohol-free Champagne. I didn't like it.
Transfers are this week. Soeur Wynn and I are staying together in Nogent, and Soeur McGhie and Soeur Tollefson are staying at Torcy (so they're both staying in the apartment), but that's about the only thing that's the same. To our utter shock, BOTH Elder Garcia and Elder Perez are leaving Nogent. We saw them today while emailing, Elder Perez told us he wanted to cry. Elder Garcia told us that they both already had. We also changed District Boundries again, so no one is the same. But, all these things bring change and growth. I have some awesome friends that are now Zone Leaders, and I'm really excited to work with some other missionaries. I love this work, it's the best sacrifice I've made in my life. It's so hard, but the abilitly to help somebody by accepting the gospel is such an amazing opportunity. Please continue to pray for our investigators, so that their hearts can be softened, and their families can accept their decision to accept the gospel. Can you believe May is already halfway over? I love you guys so much, and I know that Heavenly Father loves you too. He has given us so much. And remember "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." You are all successes, and I love you.
Peace out!
Soeur Bracken
No comments:
Post a Comment