New Address - January 21, 2014

New Address:
Soeur Beeny
60 Rue Saint Roch
Appartment 3
F 16000
Angouleme
FRANCE

 

So this past week was pretty fantastic. My last week in Chambery... I seriously thought I was going to stay and that Soeur Rich was going to leave, but of course no... I never really know what the Lord has in store for me. I just do what He says and trust that He knows what he's doing with me :) We were able to see lots of inactives this week! One of which was Soeur Lachat, the African. She made us this super delicious meal. Africans, they know how to cook; can I get an amen? Except the fact that she made toast for the meal, and she burned it to a black crisp 3 times in a row, hahaha. She is the funniest. She also fed us Gizzard. It was good, so we ate, but we may or may not have become a little ill... Anyway, she is the sweetest, and she has a teenage daughter. They hope to keep meeting with her and helping her and her daughter come to church. Keep it up Soeur Richardson. I HAVE FAITH IN YOU :)

We did an exchange in Saleve Geneva... It was so cold!! I'm not a big fan of Swiss either, but it was a great exchange! I was with a younger sister from Portugal. We saw so many little miracles! We taught a lesson zero to this adorable woman who has such a great need for the gospel in her life! She is epileptic. I have never met a more genuine or grateful person in my life. We went porting and did lots of contacting and ended up finding 3 new potential amis for them!! It was super fun. OBEDIENCE BRINGS MIRACLES!

We taught a few great lessons to Daniel this week. We taught the gospel, but still didn't invite him to baptism... We are waiting for his wife to return this week... AND THEN WE WILL BAPTIZE THEM BOTH! MUAHAHA! He is way cool though. He has such a great spiritual understanding. He is such an elect. GO GET EM SOEUR RICH! He also invited us over for dinner after church when he found out that I was leaving :( it was so nice. We had a traditional Persian meal!! So yummy!! I took pictures. Also, Odile showed up to church randomly and then joined us in our meal! It was nice to see her. Afterwards we went on a nice little walk to a nearby waterfall. The waterfall is right next to the home of Jean Jaque Rousseau, the French author. We had such a fun time, and I kept holding back tears because I just didn't want to leave Chambery... I love it too much. We will definitely need to go back.

We got to see Soeur Tabka twice this week! We visited Soeur Charrut in the hospital with her. It was
such a humbling experience. Both of these woman lost their sons at premature ages. They discussed and gave each other advice on how to continue and find faith and hope. It was incredible. I love them both so much. The Lord FILLED me with love for these people. We went to see Soeur Tabka Sunday night so I could say goodbye, and I wept. She cried as well. Soeur Richardson and I were so blessed these last two transfers to have been able to meet her and help and serve her. We testified of the savior and of his atonement. We invited her to  I will miss Soeur Tabka with all my heart. We didn't have time to visit Soeur Charrut, so I called her and said my goodbyes. We both cried and she uplifted me and promised me blessings for my service and told me that there was a little part of her heart with my name on it. I love them. I love Chambéry.

So we got our transfer calls almost 2 hours late. I thought I was gonna throw up I was so nervous. President told me I would be moving to Angouleme France with Soeur Hoar, who is an older missionary from Telford England. We spent the rest of the day visiting members and teaching our amis... We went to eat with the Menet family. They made a delicious traditional French meal with some crazy French vegetables. SO YUMMY. Pictures attached. We were able to teach Ive and Yve that night as well. Ive got me a birthday present... two boxes of mint herbal tea, haha. He called it a Mormon present. We refixed his date. he is so sincere. The sweetest big, burly man I have ever met!!  They were both really sad to hear that I was leaving. Ive teared up and said he had to leave. He will be baptized one day. I cant wait to see his name on the baptism list!! I am so grateful I was able to work with awesome amis like him.
So all in all, it was hard to leave Chambery and our adorable fairy tale life, but I know that the Lord has something in store for me in Angouleme. I am going to learn so much, and I am going to meet new people! How fantastic. I may have cried, but that doesn't mean I am any less excited for this new adventure!

Oh man, the traveling was extensive! I left Chambery at 9, got to Lyon at 11, went from Lyon to Toulouse, and then from Toulouse to Bordeaux and then from Bordeaux to Angouleme. I was told it was a total of 467 miles in one day... wow. We got in at 8:30 last night. We don't live far from the gare, but we walk up a HUGE hill... and even worse, two of my suitcases broke yesterday during the journey. The big red one, the handle literally snapped off. And then the little red one, the handle wont come out of the bag... So we pulled all 3 of my bags up a HUGE hill in the darkness and freezing cold, hahaha. The apartment is a little loft. PERFECT! Its so European... Like my companion! Her name is Soeur Hoar, haha. She is from England, near Birmingham. She is way super cool! I really love her already. She only has two more transfers left, so I may end up killing her... The branch here has about 18 active members... Yikes. I'm going from small to smaller, haha. But we are so excited to be here. ANY work we do, any amis we find, and any less actives we reactivate will count for a lot. The branch is fantastic... as far as I have heard. We have set some incredible goals and are ready to EXPLODE this place. We are already working with inactive and nonmember families. Pray for us that we will find more families and bring them to the light of the gospel!

This week I studied Luke 5: 18-25. I am so impressed with these valiant friends. They heard the miracles of Christ, and they immediately thought of their friend, who was struggling, who needed help. They brought him to Christ, and when it seemed impossible to get to Jesus, they did the impossible to overcome the impossible. They lifted their friend onto the roof, and then lowered him down from the ceiling... Wow. I cant imagine how many odd looks they received. I cant imagine how many people told them to get down or to give up. I think about myself as a missionary. Am I doing all that I can to bring my amis unto Christ? Am I doing the impossible to overcome the impossible? I sure hope so. I sure hope you are too. Pray for an opportunity to serve the Lord by sharing the gospel with someone. Do everything you can to bring them unto Christ, and I promise you, the Lord will forgive your faults. He will heal your friends. You will be happy. Because Christ is the source of all joy and peace in this life. I love you all. Have an incredible week :)

Avec tout mon amour,
Soeur Beeny