It was a beautiful week! Soeur Richardson and I are EXSTATIC
to stay together for another transfer... the Lord has a lot planned for us. We
have been spreading the joy of the saviors birth everywhere we are going! The
branch gave us a cake yesterday, and we spent all morning trying to find a
homeless person to give it to. It was stressful, but successful. WE ARE SO
JUBILANT WITH JOY! The two new sisters in our apartment are fantastic. Sister
Witt has been out for 10 months, while Sister De Oliviera has been out for 2
months... Can you believe I have been out for 7 months already? WOW! Time flies
when you are serving the Lord.
We were able to have some RDVs this week, but it has been
rough with some our amis. We saw Lucien twice, but he is super busy with work.
We went to see him and only had time to set a smoking schedule to help him
quit. He smokes a pack a day. WOOF. We were in for it. We made a goal for him
to smoke 2 less a day this week... well when I called him that night to ask how
many he had smoked, he told me that he had stuck to the plan and only smoked
2!! HE THOUGHT I SAID HE COULD ONLY SMOKE 2!! How cool, and how grateful are we
for this miscommunication. It was a testimony for him and for us that he really
can quit if his heart is in it and if he trusts in the Lord. He continues to
progress in quitting, however, scheduling RDVs has been rough.
We were able to go see Soeur Charrut, the sister in our ward
who is in the hospital. It continues to amaze me how much she does, and how
much faith she holds in her heart. She really opened up to us. She told us
about her sons... one is less active, and the other son died while he was
serving his mission in Madagascar. She holds no resentment, but has felt freed
by the peace that the atonements grants. She is incredible, and I feel as if we
visit her to bring her company, but when we leave the hospital, we have been
changed by her and her testimony. The French really are some of the strongest
members in the world.
Our forest man ami Ive is still progressing so well! He is
the sweetest big man in the world... He loves our RDVs and recognizes the
spirit like no ami I have ever met. He asks questions that we dont know how to
answer, but he is patient as we tell him we will study up and answer during the
next RDV. He is so great. He will not be ready for baptism the 21st, but he
will be baptized. He is also working on quitting smoking. As you can tell,
everyone in France smokes, haha.
Our other ami, Yves, the biggest Phil Collins fan in the
world, slipped up this week. As we taught him the Plan of Salvation, he felt
the spirit, but he had a rough week with work and he smoked a few times, even
though he had quit two months ago. He is feeling guilty and starting to pull
away a little. Pray for him to lean towards the light, not away.
Soeur Richardson and I are starting to recognize that people
feel and reject the spirit in different ways... It is a foreign feeling to
them, and they often do not know how to accept it or welcome it, and so they
try to push it away. Some people change the subject, some people leave, some
people shift around or twittle with things, and others, like Yves, begin to
quote 80s rock songs, haha. Hes a character. Recognize these things and try to
overcome these feelings. You will be more open and feel closer to the Lord.
Coolest miracle EVER this week! So one day we had like 4
tombez-vous... Boo. We were waiting at the chapel for an ami, who didnt end up
coming, and I began to feel discouraged. As I sat in the foyer, I bowed my head
in a prayer of pleading that we would be able to accomplish something during
the day and teach someone of the love of Christ... well a few minutes later
some one knocks on the door. I was confused. A young, African guy was standing
at the door. He told me that he saw our church and wanted to learn more about
us. His name is Yorrick, he is 23 from New Calidonia... and he is looking for
the truth. He really relates to Joseph Smith. He loves the things we have
taught him. He came to our ward activity and then came to church yesterday and
told us he would be coming to FHE tonight... he is SOOO cool and has such
strong faith in Christ. He will be baptized for sure.
We had a sweet branch activity talent show... we did a
really funny skit where Soeur Richardson was under a sheet and I had my hands
behind my back and she had her arms in front of me as if they were mine. We did
a skit about the day in the life of a missionary where she did my makeup and
fed me and we did missionary work... it was fun. The branch was DYING of
laughter. Daniel, our awesome ami came to the activity and used his go pro
camera to film it. He is gonna put it on YouTube for you all to see it... I will
have him email you the URL. The activity was so much fun. We ended up having 8
amis at the activity!! If only all 8 of them would come to church too! Haha, we
had 4 at church yesterday, so not too bad.
Odile is really struggling and she is very busy. We probably
wont be able to see her for a while, or at least until she decides she is ready
to change. Pray for her to feel remorse for her sins and to want to come
towards the light.
We were able to watch the Christmas devotional yesterday in
French with the Branch. It was so great! Honestly, I started to cry as we sang
Silent Night in English... I havent sung a hymn not in French in a very long
time... Also, I need to break it to you. We havent been invited over to a
members house for Christmas, and it probably wont happen... We are still trying
to figure out how we are going to skype our families. We are hoping that the
Arab internet cafe will be open, haha. I will let you know for sure next week.
We did get invited over to the Branch Presidents house for Christmas Eve dinner
though. He texted us last night to invite us and we were CRYING!! We found
Psalms 107:5-6 for them and said thank you very much :) Haha, so all is well!
He also told us we could take the churchs christmas tree back to our
apartment... so after church I carried it all the way home. We got some weird
looks, and people were laughing. It looked like a walking Christmas Tree. We
are so happy to have a tree though! We made a makeshift fireplace, so we are
all set for Christmas day!! YAY!
That is all really... pray for our amis that they will keep
progressing! And pray for us to continue to find those that are seeking the
truth. I love you all and wish you a beautiful week! Dont forget: Its the most
wonderful time of the year. Don't waste it.
Avec tout mon amour,
Soeur Beeny
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