Blessings of the Mission

I think this picture pretty much says everything about my week. :)

It was a pretty awesome week, really busy, and a little sad, trasnfers are coming next week. And since there is a 98 percent chance that I will change villes (there are only 2 other missionaries in this mission who have rested somewhere for 5 mutations) I spent Sacrament thinking a lot about Evry. And I was looking around the sacrament hall thinking 'did I do my best?' I there was Emma in her african rob, just got the gift of the holy ghost. Christina and her family totally active sitting next to me, Agathe with her baby in the front of the salle. Next to me was sitting our next 2 baptisms, another family we just re-activated, right after the opening hymn snuck in another inactive that i've been working with the whole time i've been here and been praying for everyday, and sitting right by Agathe is another inactive that finally promised me she would come to church and did it. And 2 other families with similar stories. Then I noticed sitting quitely an ami, who also will be baptized soon, just sitting next to the members like she belonged there. On top of that there are all the members, Reba and Mandoline who have become my replacement sisters, Soeur Stevine who I swear is my Soeur de Coeur. It was a bittersweet moment, I might have cried a bit. Man, I hope that 2 percent works for me and I stay a 5th. 6 months isn't long enough.

More miracles

This week I had 2 experiences that I really loved (I considered just using one and saving the other for next week, in case nothing cool happens this week, but I don't think that's really showing my faith to the Lord). So,

The first was the story that we shared in our missionary minute on Sunday, which was nerve wrecking because Soeur Babin (future wife of the future president of mission) was there. But we were in a lesson with a member and the member had invited us to teach their family that arent members of the church. We were in the lesson and the family hadn't been too engaged in the lesson (they were eating), then the the member started bearing her testimony. She said that of all the things that she could give to her family, of all the gifts this is the most precious, and the one of greatest value for her. And that since it was her greatest gift and blessing it is her duty to give it to the people around her who she loves. It was just really cute, and really sincere, really simple, and really powerful. Both me and Soeur Tehoiri were struck by her testimony. At that point the family started asking questions, the lesson was really great, we fixed an appointment, they came to church already and will come again next week. It was just really amazing of the member, and if everyone in the church had that attitude about the gospel the church would be doubled in size in 1 year.

The other story makes me look bad, because no lie, the lord had to pratically hit me with a hammer to make me follow the spirit, but I never claimed to be perfect. So we decided to take a break from teaching Nalde, because she stopped coming to church, or keeping any committments. And just a few days after the decision we ran into Nalde on the street, something that is not common here, and I have never ran into her before. So we said hi, and how are you? But kept going. A few days later we ran into her again! And we sat by her on the train and talked for a bit, asked how her life was, and then got off at our stop without making an appointment. (I know, I sound stupid). Finally we were doing planning that night and me and Soeur Tehoiri were talking about it and were like 'how weird we keep running into Nalde', then a long pause, we look at each other, no words needed to be said, we picked up the phone and called Nalde. We didn't know what to teach her this time, but we were like, this really clearly needs to be done for some reason. So we get there, and Nalde had a friend there. 2 minutes into the lesson the friend starts listening, then she starts asking questions, then she grabs the book of mormon out of Naldes hands and asks if she could have one because she would like to read it, as we were leaving she fixed anappointment with us. It was really wonderful walking out of there and knowing the reason for why we had be sent back. And it was a huge testimony for me that the gospel is for everyone, and if the Lord wants to give someone a chance to find the gospel he will get you to them! Even if it takes several times.

And believe me, i'm going to work on not being so oblivious. :) Love you all! Have a great week!
Sarah

This week I had 2 experiences that I really loved (I considered just using one and saving the other for next week, in case nothing cool happens this week, but I don't think that's really showing my faith to the Lord). So,

The first was the story that we shared in our missionary minute on Sunday, which was nerve wrecking because Soeur Babin (future wife of the future president of mission) was there. But we were in a lesson with a member and the member had invited us to teach their family that arent members of the church. We were in the lesson and the family hadn't been too engaged in the lesson (they were eating), then the the member started bearing her testimony. She said that of all the things that she could give to her family, of all the gifts this is the most precious, and the one of greatest value for her. And that since it was her greatest gift and blessing it is her duty to give it to the people around her who she loves. It was just really cute, and really sincere, really simple, and really powerful. Both me and Soeur Tehoiri were struck by her testimony. At that point the family started asking questions, the lesson was really great, we fixed an appointment, they came to church already and will come again next week. It was just really amazing of the member, and if everyone in the church had that attitude about the gospel the church would be doubled in size in 1 year.

The other story makes me look bad, because no lie, the lord had to pratically hit me with a hammer to make me follow the spirit, but I never claimed to be perfect. So we decided to take a break from teaching Nalde, because she stopped coming to church, or keeping any committments. And just a few days after the decision we ran into Nalde on the street, something that is not common here, and I have never ran into her before. So we said hi, and how are you? But kept going. A few days later we ran into her again! And we sat by her on the train and talked for a bit, asked how her life was, and then got off at our stop without making an appointment. (I know, I sound stupid). Finally we were doing planning that night and me and Soeur Tehoiri were talking about it and were like 'how weird we keep running into Nalde', then a long pause, we look at each other, no words needed to be said, we picked up the phone and called Nalde. We didn't know what to teach her this time, but we were like, this really clearly needs to be done for some reason. So we get there, and Nalde had a friend there. 2 minutes into the lesson the friend starts listening, then she starts asking questions, then she grabs the book of mormon out of Naldes hands and asks if she could have one because she would like to read it, as we were leaving she fixed anappointment with us. It was really wonderful walking out of there and knowing the reason for why we had be sent back. And it was a huge testimony for me that the gospel is for everyone, and if the Lord wants to give someone a chance to find the gospel he will get you to them! Even if it takes several times.

And believe me, i'm going to work on not being so oblivious. :) Love you all! Have a great week!
Sarah

Well i'm 22 now, offically an old lady, yet I find in my old age I am still lacking imense amounts of wisdom, and its not always evident that i'm old. (evident, that's a word in English right? I forget, but its a phrase in French). This week I spent a lot of time pondering a lot of things, one of them is conversion. We had a zone conference with Elder Kearon where he talked about how a missionary needs to know how your amis need to feel to be converted, so that started me thinking. Then we had many members say to me and Soeur Tehoiri that it is sometimes harder for somebody born in the Church to find their testimony than people converted, so that also had me thinking about it.

I'm not going to sit and share my conversion story because 1. its not super important right now and 2. its extremely personal and I don't love sharing it over the top...or at all.... But it had me thinking about my conversion and the conversion of people that I have baptized, or helped on the way to baptism. And each conversion is so different, as I started thinking about it, yet so similar.

For each person is was a certain thing, a specific little principle that shot right to their hearts and pierced them. I know the thing that was mine was completely different from all my amis. Yet it was a truth that pierced their soul. The Holy Ghost testified to them that this was the thing, the truth. The more I pondered that the more overwhelmed I was by the power of the Holy Ghost. For one of our amis, Candida, it was the actions of the members that was the thing that testified to her. For Agathe it was tithing, for Emma is was the evidence of the spirit in our church meetings. Such different things, things that probably wouldn't be the first thing that touched my heart. And it just astounds me how the spirit testifies of all truths. I thought at the beginning of my mission that the ami just had to read the book of mormon and that was what the spirit would testify for, but each person is so different, and the spirit is going to testify to them about a thing that is specifically for them, because God knows them specifically. And it was just a testimony to me that Heavenly Father knows each of us, and he is going to give us things that are just for us personally. I know that with all my heart,

I saw that last week with our ami Laetitia, she is 22 and the typical French young adult, she completely doesn't understand the law of chastity, or why marriage for children is so important when we first explained it. But something had touched her heart in the message that we shared with her, something about our church pierced her soul. And that is why she is continuing to take our lessons and coming to church. And it is incredible that the one piercing of the spirit can guide someone on the path through all the lies that Satan has thrown at you.

Sorry that got long, I hope everyone has a great week!

Soeur Jackson.