This week was wonderful. We surpassed many, many of our
goals. We were so blessed and felt the Bleu Fire rekindled in our hearts. We
had some fantastic lessons with our amis and with members...
Ivio continues to
progress well. We were able to teach him about the importance of the little
things (Alma 37:6) that make a HUGE difference. We also got to teach him the
Word of Wisdom. He was late for our RDV... He is NEVER late. And he has never
missed a RDV. Our back up plan was "Call the police" or "Dig a
hole"... We were worried. We turned to the member and said, "Our
prayers are magical. If we pray, he'll come." So we prayed. He showed up
10 minutes later. We taught the Word of Wisdom and his only worry was
"What will I do if the Queen of England invites me to tea?" hahaha,
He is too funny! He threw out his tea and coffee this weekend and came happily
to church...
Speaking of church, we had 6 amis at church. MIRACLE! It was one
of the best fast and testimony meetings Ive ever attended, even if half of the
ward is gone on vacation. Soeur Grunke and I were able to bear testimony. I saw
the truthfulness of the scriptures in D&C 100:5-8 that tell us that our
mouths will be filled if we are doing the Lords will and His work.
We were able
to teach Armelle this week and help her see the importance of the Book of
Mormon. She still hadn't read like we asked her, so we cancelled our plans and
read with her. She liked it so much that she asked to read more with us. When
we came back later in the week, she had read 2 more chapters than we asked her
to. Incredible. The Spirit of the Book of Mormon.
We taught one of the most
beautiful lessons about the Savior to Amandine... She is back on board we
believe. She came to church yesterday!! It's funny. We have been freaking out
about how great she is for about 2 months now, but yesterday was only her
second time at church. The members BOMBARDED her! They were so excited to see
her. Pray that we will be able to set a new baptismal date with her for the
27th of September :)
We had one incredible day this week where Clément, a young
adult, just spent the entire day with us in the city center and the city park
teaching lessons to new amis! We are meeting some of the coolest people in the
area, and they are so ready to be taught, but they are all leaving on
vacation... So we taught about 4 new potentials, all of which want to continue
lessons, but they are gone for about 2 or 3 weeks on vacation.
Pray for Annick,
Lolita, Aymard, and Fatma.
We have loved teaching a Sister named Soeur Veretout.
She was excommunicated a few years ago, but she is trying to re-find her
footing, and wants to progress towards baptism. The gospel is so wonderful and
full of hope... The Savior is willing to forgive, if we are... See bottom for
deeper insight.
One cool part of the week was being able to see Soeur Green
and Soeur Reichelt. They came in to Clermont-Ferrand for legality purposes...
Their equipe is a Georgian and a German too! We loved having them :) I just
love the missionaries here in the France Lyon Mission... It truly is the
greatest mission in the world.
I felt so inspired and touched by the scriptures this week.
The Book of Mormon truly is the word of
God. I would like to speak about
forgiveness for a moment. I asked the most wise man in the South of France,
President Roney, concerning forgiveness. I asked how we use the atonement to
forgive someone when we feel as if we cannot forgive with our own human
capacities. Well, he started off by telling me that forgiveness is the most
essential key to the atonement... We cannot use the atonement and be forgiven
if WE do not forgive others ourselves. If we live righteously our entire life,
and repent and change, but never learn to forgive someone, well, the Lord in
turn cannot forgive us. Wow. I literally freaked out and said "WHAT?! Oh
my gosh!! I NEED TO FORGIVE!" during my interview. President laughed and
continued on... We will be forgiven to the degree that we forgive others. The
most life changing moment of our life will be the moment that we forgive someone
who does not deserve to be forgiven. This moment will help us realize that none
of us truly deserve to be forgiven for our sins. The love and mercy of the
Savior is why we will ultimately be forgiven of our faults. Thus, in order to
forgive someone in our own lives who does not deserve to be forgiven, we must
have love and mercy in the same manor that the Lord has for us... Wow.
It starts with prayer. It starts with a desire to follow the Savior. Ask the
Father to heighten your capacity to love. Then, do all you can in your power to
love this person by SERVING them. As you serve, you love them, hence why the
service of the Savior, the atonement, is the reason He loves us so much and can
relate to us, and understand us. He knows us and did everything for us. He
loves us eternally. When we serve, we love, we understand, and we forgive and
forget, and grow and learn. I hope this all makes sense. In any case, I invite
you to become more like the Savior and I invite you to repent and forgive.
Choose one person, someone who does not deserve to be forgiven in your eyes, and
forgive them. Trust the Lord. Follow His example. Lean on Him to support you.
Serve, Love, and Forget. You will be set free. I know this because the Savior
provided a way for all of us to be set free from our sins through His infinite
atonement. I love Him. I trust Him. I want to be like Him. I want you to be
like Him as well.
I love you.
Avec tout mon amour,
Soeur Beeny
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