Sunday, August 11, 2013

July 29, 2013 - Stop! In the Name of Love!


Yay! I have lots of time to email stuff! I cant believe Aubrey is already starting school... so weird!! I hope you have fun getting her ready though :)

So some things I forgot to include last week.
 
Zone Conference was incredible! I was so inspired by the constant reminder to CONTACT EVERYONE! Literally, we're stopping people in the street because we love them. God loves them, and He wants them back with him for all eternity. We have been so good at stopping people and contacting everyone. Our numbers have skyrocketed in the mission! It gives me faith and I have begun contacting on my own without Soeur Bayles so that we can literally talk to EVERYONE we run into. It is scary, but I've learned a lot. Soeur Bayles told me that most new missionaries don't start contacting on their own or making phone calls until the END of their SECOND transfer. I'm weeks ahead of the usual's, so yay!! Taking initiative has blessed me and I feel more confident in my abilities to share the gospel.
 
But at zone conference, the assistants to the president (aka, the best elders in the mission) teach for the last two hours. They wanted to have a demonstration of how to contact... AND GUESS WHO THEY HAD COME UP FRONT?! That's right. Me. One of the 4 brand new missionaries in the room. And they didn't let Soeur Bayles come up. I had to do it on my own in front of the 60 experienced missionaries in the room. I literally thought I was going to throw up I was so scared. Not to mention I had to contact one of the assistants who is an actual Frenchman and he would notice how bummy I am at French compared to everyone else... but I got up and I took a deep breath and I did it! And it went pretty well. Everyone was impressed with my abilities and at the end I wasn't as embarrassed as I thought I would be. All these old missionaries came up and gave me props afterwards. I felt good. I can do this you guys.

So this is the last week of my first transfer in France!! There are 12 transfers in a Soeur's mission. I spent the first in the MTC, and the second in Carcassonne. I'm 1/6th of the way through my mission already... LIKE WHAT?! Time is going by so fast, you're right. I love it here and I feel SO blessed. So Friday we will receive phone calls from president and he will tell us if we are moving villes or if we stay in Carcassonne. I may or may not be serving with Soeur Bayles and I may be leaving, so hopefully your letters will come in the mail soon!! So don't send me anything until next week so I can let you know if I've moved villes or not... I'm so scared. But I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for me!!

We had exchanges with the sister training leaders on Monday and Tuesday up in Talence, a ville outside of Bordeaux. BORDEAUX IS SO GORGEOUS!! Seriously, I hope I get to serve there one day... But Talence is kinda ugly, haha. But I was with Soeur Pfost, this adorable little missionary. We were able to teach one of her amis on Tuesday, and it was in English! So it went pretty well and I was able to feel more comfortable in my own language. So good! It went well.
 
I contacted a man on the street by myself on Tuesday, and he instantly realized I wasn't a native speaker. He asked me if Jesus was dead... so I said He died but that He was resurrected and tried to testify! Then I told him about mormon.org and he asked me if Jesus made the website... haha, he was pulling my leg big time! Then he asked me if it would be cool with the church if he was married to his own sister... it got so awkward at the point that I literally told him to look it up on the website and I got out of there, haha. So yeah. Contacting can be VERY interesting sometimes.

We went to this super cute ville called Limoux this week to see a member family. They are so cute and strong. The Campanairs have 4 kids. Soeur Bayles and I had a great time with them, and we missed our bus 3 times that day, so we kept going back to the city to contact. We met some cool people. Also, I have started taking lots of pictures of doors. The French take their doors VERY seriously here. They're beautiful. I'll send you my favorite one of the week and where I took the picture. When I get home I'm gonna make a huge picture with all the doors. They're so cool. I want a French door.

I got your package! I got it like a week and a half ago, I just forgot to tell you, haha. IT WAS SO CUTE! Seriously adorable. Thank you so much. All of the things you sent are very useful :) I love green. Its funny, seeing your handwriting made me cry. I loved Aubrey's little letter! Haha, she's such a dork. All she talked about were her dolls... Did she get the eraser I sent?! Please say yes. I bought it in the castle and I couldn't help myself. I'll be sending something else soon... probably in a month or a little less, if you know what I mean :)

We had district conference this week in Bezier, and we have another district meeting there later this week as well. It was so fun. I'll get a picture with my district and send it next week. 

So we got our next ami!! He was an ami before we got here with the last équipe, but he was on vacation for the last month or so. His name is Chan Tan and he's 58 years old from Cambodia. He lives in a foyer, which is basically a homeless shelter run by the government that takes really good care of people but they watch them like hawks. They allow them to live there for as long as needed until they find a job and are stable enough to live on their own. The only down side is that the government won't let them do things unless it helps them find a job, so he can't get baptized till he leaves the foyer, which is most likely at the end of the year. So we set a baptismal date with him for the 28th of December. Its a long ways out, but it could definitely be moved up if he finds a job sooner! So keep him in your prayers that he will find a job and continue to grow in his faith in Christ. Please also pray for the Ressetti family and the Cathala families. They are both two families that we could possibly start teaching. Otherwise, I can't really think of anyone.

So yeah, this week was busy and VERY HOT, but awesome. I had a spiritual impression that there is a family waiting to be taught by us, so pray that we will find a family receptive to our message that wants to follow the example of Christ. I am trying hard and working diligently to strengthen my faith. So pray for me so that I can become exactly obedient and follow all the promptings of the spirit.

I love you all so much. Keep the faith. This is the Lord's gospel. Be obedient and you will see miracles in your lives! Be kind to the missionaries there and give them my love :) FIND THEM PEOPLE TO TEACH! You meet so many people. Love them and share this beautiful blessing called the gospel with them. Have a great week. à Lundi!


Avec mon amour,

Soeur Victoria Beeny

 







 




 

 


 

 

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