We did it! We did it! We did it! HORRAY!! Now you see us, we did it!! Nananananananah!! - October 27, 2014

(Sing to the song "We did it!" from the end of every Dora the Explorer episode) 

We did it! We did it! We did it! HORRAY!! Now you see us, we did it!! Nananananananah!! 

We worked really hard and we prayed a whole lot, yeah we did it. We did it. We did it. We did it.

We scratched and we bit and we taught 20 lessons, oh yeah, we did it! We did it! We did it! Hooray!!

That's right freres and soeurs!! Soeur Jacobsen and I finally reached the mission goal of teaching 20 lessons this week!! I will tell you one thing... it took a whole lot of work and faith, but with the Lord, all things are possible. We didnt know if we would make it, but the Lord carried us through the finish line, with plenty of time to spare. Let me tell you how it was done...

Well, actually the beginning of the week was spent in Lyon, with a great Zone PDay where we played Werewolf for 3 hours while eating sugar cookies, ha. Fun! Then we had a suuupppper cool exchange with some sisters in the Vale de Saone ward in Lyon. I did an exchange with Soeur De Feo from Rome, Italy!! Took me back to the days with all my wonderful European companions... Miss them to much :,,) They literally tried to call all of their less actives and amis, but NO ONE was free! So we had a day full of contacting ahead of us. Good thing we are both experienced missionaries... so for us that just meant a day full of MIRACLES!! We went to a little, GORGEOUS outer ville called Villefranche. It took us almost an hour to get their on bus. WELL WORTH IT BECAUSE THE LORD HAD PLANNED OUR DAY ALREADY! We immediately began to talk to EVERYONE. Soon hereafter we met a nice lady who invited us to visit her husband with her in the retirement home... so we went and met some nice old folks and then talked to Josiane for about an hour and a half and taught the restoration and gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. She was such a Christlike woman... we learned a lot from her. We headed into the TINY central ville afterwards and contacted like crazy women! We ended up having 2 other lessons and found one of the coolest elect couples I have ever met in my mission... I was slightly jealous that they were not my new amis... they were so wonderful, and both Soeur De Feo and I had a feeling that they were the whole reason we had gone to this little ville. The Lord puts the people in our path, we just need to be willing to talk to them. So, we had a wonderful miracle filled exchange, which was celebrated with some very delicious and much deserved dark chocolate and coconut pasteries. Yum. Missionary work rules. So we lost 2 days out of our sector because of this exchange, but we felt as if we were able to help those sisters advance their work! Preach My Gospel tells us "Leave every sector better than how you found it." I take this very seriously, thinking also of the sectors that I visit even for a short day or two... the Lords work needs to be done everywhere. Also, Soeur De Feo taught me some cool Italian "Ho del pesce nelle mie tasche."... which means "I have a fish in my pocket."

We got to see some great amis this week including the ADORABLE famille Ferreira. We watched the Restoration DVD and it was the first time that the kids were quiet and payed attention the whole time, and then Nabil, the punkish 10 year old offered the closing prayer... families can be eternal. I can practically see this family in white!! They are progressing SOOOO slowly, but they are progressing. Annabella, the mom, even read this time :) invitations being respected!! WOOHOO!! We saw Marie-Lou and got her a Portuguese Book of Mormon. Shes excited. We got to teach Amandines little sister Gaelle this week by surprise! And the even better surprise... she had stolen her moms Book of Mormon and read and taken notes!! We had to teach her the commandment "Thou shalt not steal", but she read! SO AWESOME! We have only taught her twice, but the crazy thing is is that we think Gaelle could be baptized the 9th of November! And she wants to!! Pray like crazy for her :) 

We received revelation this week. Straight up revelation from the Lord. We received revelation that we needed to invite Camille to be baptized the 8th of November. Crazy, beccause her mom is completely against the church and wont give her permission. But we had  tearfilled lesson with her and then we all fasted together on Friday to soften her mothers heart... we will see how things go as Camille takes those steps of faith to talk with her mom and hopefully receive permission. Pray for her as well, as she could just as well be our baptism at the end of this transfer. 

Friday was an anwer to our prayers... The Sister Training Leaders came to our rescue and we had an exchange in Clermont. We had 2 teams of sisters working in our names sake!! I was lucky enough to be with Sister Bragg... great missionary. We felt prompted to go to a little ville outside of Clermont called Royat. Our excuse was we were going to find some lost less actives, but the Lord knew the real reason. When we arrrived there, and we began talking to people, we met a middle aged man named Yves. He immediately asked us to sit down with him on the steps to do the questionnnaire. However, his friends kept coming up and bothering us. So, we got up and he took us to a table near by where we could sit down without being disturbed. We taught him the restoration. As we talked about Joseph Smith he looked at us and told us "That is compeletly possible." When he recognized the Mormon title, he talked about geneology, because his mom was a professional! He put his glasses on all seriously and looked at us over the table and asked "What do you propose then?"... we exchanged glances and then told him that we wanted to teach him several times a week and we would invite him to read and pray and keep the commandments and change his life if necessary in order to know if our message was true. He agreed full heartedly. We prayed. We fixed our next meeting, and then we were on our way as if it was every day life. Soeur Bragg and I had to pray and thank the Lord for this unforseen miracle. It was just wonderful. We were able to meet many, many other great children of God. Then the Rapinat family strengthened us physically with a delicious meal, and then spiritually by sharing their inspiring conversion stories. Our ward is wonderful.

Amandine taught with us this week. WOOPWOOP!! That was fun. We also discovered that Armelle is still in Clermont! MIRACLE! We hope to start teaching her again this week. Saturday night we were determined to teach 2 more lessons... even though it was freezing cold and dark outside, Soeur Jacobsen and I ventured off into town to teach some lessons. For about 2 hours we talked to everyone in our path... not too many people were willing to stop. We finally taught a lesson to a cool dude from Sweden who is here on vacation. We needed to head home to make curfew... we were worried, because to reach our goal of 20 lessons, we needed to teach 5 lessons Sunday. We made plans. We already had 3 lessons planned, so we would just need 2 miracles! It almost seemed too easy...

We woke up on Sunday morning with hope in our hearts. We went to church and had a very inspiring broadcast from Lyon for our stake conference. Afterwards we had weekly planning... totally normal. We called our amis to confirm our lessons... and they ALL cancelled. Fear kinda struck our hearts. There were some young adults still at the church. We asked them to pray with us before we left. They prayed that we would teach 5 lessons to meet our goal, and off we went into the vastness of Clermont to find 5 lessons, floating on the faith of our remarkable JAs!! We talked to everyone... and I mean EVERYONE! The second person we talked to was a young girl named Gloria. We felt kinda creepy as we followed her off the tram, but things worked out as she is a devout Christian. We had a great little lesson with her and then prayed holding hands in the street... also, I am so impressed with the number of people that are comfortable praying in the streets with us, haha. We also met two super cool guys in Jardin le Coq that we taught lessons too, as well as the most radiant old lady in the world! That was 4 lessons in 2 hours... we went to Jaude and Soeur Jacobsen lead the way to an adorable young woman who loved speaking with us in English... about faith and Christ and the restoration. And then it was done. We had taught 5 miracle lessons in 3 hours. We even had time to spare, so we started wracking up the points and talked to more people! Angels were with us. 

We know that it was only through the Lord that these miracles were possible. 

I am so thankful for this gospel. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord and teach this gospel. I am so thankful for the inspiration of my mission president to help us set goals to teach 20 lessons. Its possible. With the Lord, it is possible. I love Him. He loves you. I love you too. Have a great week.

Avec tout mon amour,

Soeur Beeny

La Vie est Belle - October 20, 2014

What a week to remember... We wanted to have a miracle packed week, because we realized that we needed to find some new amis asap... So we prayed for new amis... the first 3 days of the week were rough, because the amis that we already had weren't answering the phone or coming to our RDVs... So, we felt as if we were starting from negative of what we already had!! There was one night where I just cried because my hope was almost spent. I had a beautiful experience with the Lord in prayer that brought light to my heart. We felt determined to find miracles and knew that the Lord had a greater plan than we could see. 

One morning we left for a RDV with Patrice... He didn't show up and then when we called him and he yelled at us... getting to the end of this line. Anyway, I hung up the phone and told Soeur Jacobsen that the Lord needed us to teach someone else. We prayed right then. We got out our questionnaires and then turned to the first lady we saw. She accepted and then invited us to sit on the bench with her. We talked about the Savior and incredible spiritual experiences she has had in her life. Marie-Lou is incredibly open and we had a lovely lesson and set our next RDV for Wednesday... So, miracle? The Lord is planning for us. He is just waiting for us to see His greater plans. Seek His will!!

Another cool miracle: Amandine called us one morning during studies... abnormal. She seemed really

happy on the phone. She had spoken with her mom and two sisters and invited them to be taught by the missionaries... and they accepted!! WWWHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTT?! So cool. She is the perfect example. She met the missionaries, found her own testimony, and is now sharing with her family and friends and introducing them to the missionaries. Her story could be found in the scriptures. So, we went over to their house on Thursday night and talked about the Savior. We watched a film and read the scriptures... The spirit was wonderful. Amandine was able to testify and her family talked about how much happier and peaceful she was... Real example. We talked about the importance of developing Christlike attributes to bring peace and joy into the home... we can find the fullness of the gospel in the restored church of Christ. They invited us back over to teach them about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. It was so ideal. I am living the missionary dream right now!!

We were able to see many less actives this week as well, and to have a super fun FHE/crepe night in the world!! Such great memories. We taught Amandine about temples and geneology. She is so fantastic... She is so ready to expand and understand more and find more and grow more!! She hopes to go to the temple soon :) 

Pray that Colette, Anne-Flore, and Ibrahim will get back into contact with us... they have disappeared. But! The Lord has been generous. Our new ami, Shady, I told you about him last week, has been doing great! He's Muslim, but loves the Arabic Book of Mormon already!! We have had some good laughs and wonderful weather. I can't complain. We also got to go to a Primary activity this weekend because I taught the kids how to make balloons!! WOOHOO! SO much fun :) 

Cool pictures are from last Pday... Beautiful cathedral and Soeur Jacobsen and I bored out of our minds at H&M with the ugliest outfits in the world, hahahaha. Just go with it... :) 

I'm sorry this is so jumbled. 

I also wanted to share Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith theLord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, 

so are ye in minehand, O house of Israel. 

Remember that as you follow the Lords will, He will be able to mold you and help you to become the divine person you were intended to turn into. TRUST HIM! Hes wonderful. I love Him. I love the Lord. I love the Savior. He loves you. I love you. Have a wonderful week.

Avec tout mon amour,

Soeur Beeny

Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up - October 13, 2014

Hahahaha, coolest miracle!! So we sit down to do emails. We start freakin out and speaking in English... a new employee in the internet café freaks out and comes over to speak to us in English!! He's from Australia. We had a nice conversation and then all of a sudden he told us he really wants to learn about the message we're sharing!! We took his number and set a rdv... then I asked his name. He responded "Shady."..... "What?"-me. "Shady, like Slim Shady.".... hahahahaha, so yes. We have a new potential ami named Shady :) I guess our fast to find new amis really worked!! We're excited and we can feel the miracles that are going to overflow our schedules this week! 

We got to see the lovely Ferreira family this week! We just ran by with cookies and luckily they were home. We stayed only a small moment, but they began sharing their lives. They are experiencing some opposition right now: lots of work, fatigue, overwhelming feelings. We worry for them, but lifted them up by sharing spiritual strength through the scriptures. They felt better as we talked about the Savior. He really is the solution to everything. We just ate crepes at the restaurant where Annabella Ferreira works! She told us to stop by, so we did! The 1513 Café is the most legit restaurant in all of Clermont... We were so glutenous. I got a crepe with coconut ice cream and hot fudge. When Annabella saw us, she ran out of the kitchen

with the BIGGEST smile in the world!! It was so worth it... I think she really felt our love :) also, her crepes are out of this world.

FUN FACTS! Soeur Jacobsen's grandpa was the mission president of the Macon Georgia mission in 1994!! SMALL WORLD! Also, Soeur Jacobsen is quite clumsy. As she was closing the church gate yesterday, it snagged her heel, and tore off the biggest chunk of skin in the world. It was bleeding profusely. I WAS SCREAMING!! I ran into the chapel as she hobbled in. I dug through the kitchen and found the first aid kit, throwing stuff around and screaming all the while. She came inside and I had to operate (put gauze) on her foot. Then I cleaned up all the nasty blood on the floor in the church, hahahha. It was so funny. Shes doing better today :) it was a fun story. I can now say that I saved my companions life :)

We had lots of fun lessons and rdv's this week... we made cookies with Amandine, Angelina, and one of her Chinese friends!! We finally got to see our "Dry Member" ami

Camille... We talked about PMG and she told us she has started praying about her mission... She is such an incredible example for us. The ultimate ami!! She also finished Personal Progress recently. Wowzers.

Saturday I had my first split!! We went to Vichy with some members to find less actives. It was nice, even though our less active wasn't home and we went on a crazy goose hunt. But ca va. It was fun and I love the new missionary spirit in the ward!! 

We had a way fun FHE with the single ladies in the ward. MEXICAN NIGHT!! Such a great memory

:) and yummy, oh so yummy food...

We saw Colette. Not the best lesson ever. She went to an evangelist church yesterday and really liked it. Oh no. But we hope that the spirit will work on her. We found an application that reads the Book of Mormon outloud in Portuguese. It will help her we believe. Pray for her to pray and read and receive her answer!! 

We fixed a baptismal date with Ibrahim for the 8th of November!! We also re-fixed Patrice's date for that day as well... All is going well, but we need more amis, hence

our fast. We really feel like this is the week!! Pray for us as we work our buns off!!

We had a very inspiring Zone Training this week. I was in tears several times. They asked me to sing Come Unto Christ as a testimony of the Savior. Made me think of Soeur Paulo and Soeur Grunke :) Miss them... I was so struck by many of the things the leaders said... I felt a sense of urgency. The Spirit was reminding me once again of the short amount of time I have. We all wrote one weakness we would give up  on a little piece of paper, and then we all shredded them with a paper shredder at the front of the room. YEAH!! The Zone Leaders invited us to go out of the meeting with a renewed vision, ready to be the greatest missionaries ever. We left. I contacted on both metros on the way to the train station, even though it was only 2 stops away... I did everything I could

to make every moment count. I have been doing the same here in Clermont, not allowing a moment

to go by without searching the will of the Lord... I have felt so satisfied with myself and my efforts, and even if we haven't found a bajillion new amis, I feel as if I am truly making a difference in the lives of our Heavenly Father's children. This is truly the life.

Yesterday I was touched by the Spirit many times during testimony meeting... I love the ward with all my heart. They have changed my life. I love my life. I love my mission. I love France. I love this gospel. I love Heavenly Father. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. Love is the key. It is the key to peace and happiness. I don't know what I would do without my mission, without this knowledge, without this hope... Wow. I am so lucky. Thank you. I love you all. Have a wonderful week.

Avec tout mon amour,

Soeur Beeny

Also, I am a tomatoe sauce in Spanish...

There She Goes - October 6, 2014

So, last week was actually very, very boring, and very, very uneventful. I was in Lyon from Monday till Thursday. The new missionaries were stuck in London for 12 hours, so everything was pushed back a whole day! It was crazy, and quite mind numbing... The trainers had nothing to do, so we did what we could. Thank heavens I was with Soeur Do! She is serving in Lyon, so we did some work in her sector. We saw some less actives and did contacting and what not... we also got to see some beautiful places in Lyon, including the overlook of Lyon!! The last time I went there was the first day I arrived in France... Wow, how times have changed, and yet it seems like it was only yesterday. It gave me a much greater perspective of what I need to do, and how little time I have left. I left Lyon with a prayer in my heart that I would be able to accomplish all that the Lord has in store for us in the short time that remains. Now is the moment that I will show the Lord if I am truly prepared to persevere to the end. I believe I am :) Taking every moment as its given, doubling my talents at every opportunity, and lifting one more spirit towards the love of the Lord.

Soeur Do and I were able to see Soeur Richardson and her parents while they were in Lyon!! It was so crazy! It feels like only yesterday I was talking to them on Skype Christmas day in an arab internet café, haha. They were so sweet! They left the institute in Lyon, and Soeur Do and I followed them... We almost ran after them to give Soeur Rich one last hug goodbye... but we decided that it wasnt right... then I said "There she goes."... a moment of silence. Then simultaniously Soeur Do and I began to sing "There She Goes... There she goes again!! ... Runnin through my head... and I cant ...(finish the song)." We were standing on the sidewalk in a busy French road, just singing. Lots of people walked by and gave us weird looks, hahahaha. IT WAS A REAL MOVIE MOMENT! I will never forget that moment, hahah. Thank you Soeur Do for making me feel like a celebrity ;)

The ceremony where we received our bleus was epic! Very fun... I was happy to receive Soeur Jacobsen, a cute little blondie from California! I would have been happy with any of the bleus!! They were all way cool. I really loved being able to see Soeur Everett who is finally back in the field after being at home, sick for about 6 months. I cried when I saw her... Dreams do come true :)

Otherwise, we had a pretty uneventful week!! We were able to see some less actives. We got to do two service projects for members!! That has never really happened before. Soeur Jacobsen is good luck I guess :) 

I was really happy to see Amandine after a long week. She is doing wonderfully and really loved coming to conference! Patrice also came with his cousin! YAY! Colette is in Toulouse... but she seems to be doing well. We are hoping to have a baptism the 8th of November and we are working our tails off to see it! But, we know it isnt possible without the Lord, so we set the goal to pray for our baptism in EVERY single prayer!! Please, keep us in your prayers. We also followed the example of our mission president and "rented" one of my missionary shirts in a covenant to the Lord that we would follow the commandments and give our all to His work here in Clermont!! Our own Title of Baptistry!! 

We spent basically all of the weekend with members and watching conference... It was such a joy!! I love conference. Saturday afternoon session was absolutely remarkable. Anderson. Callister. Holland. Klebingat. Abide with me Tis Eventide. I was so touched!!!!!! "I am not my brother's keeper, but I am my brother's brother." Remember to always be kind and considerate. We are here as the Lord's hands on earth. If we don't help and serve, how can we expect others to help and serve? I hear too many impatient, angry, and spiteful words. We must follow the example of the Savior. "It is much less important that we walk where Christ did, than that we walk AS He did." I thought of this statement and asked myself "Am I trying to be like Jesus? Am I following in His ways? Am I doing what He would do in every moment, and in every opportunity?" I am so grateful for a modern day prophet and for the apostles of the Lord. I know that the addresses given this weekend are the things God, our Heavenly Father, would want us to hear. As we treasure up His word and apply the teachings in our lives, we will find greater happiness and peace, and we will bless our brothers and sisters. In a world of hate and anger, let us try to be more loving and accepting and joyful. I know that as we do, the Lord will smile on us and help us along... I love Him. He loves you. I love you. Have a wonderful week :) 

Avec tout mon amour, 

Soeur Beeny

Here We Go Again - September 29, 2014

Today is the first day of my last transfer as a missionary in France. Weird. Like 6 weeks ago, I find myself sitting in the internet café in Lyon. My daughter, Soeur Verrieras, is on a train to Geneva in Switzerland right now. I will be DYING in Clermont-Ferrand. My last transfer will be spent training a new sister... She's still in the MTC right now, or flying to France as I'm typing this! Holy wow. Here we go again... haha, I am really excited for what the Lord has in store for me and my Bleu!! This transfer will be full of miracles, because I'll have dying fire and Bleu Fire all in one! LOOK OUT EVERYONE! 

We started out with a super fun exchange with the sisters in Lyon! WOOHOO! Miracles happen on exchanges... seriously though, Soeur DO and I walked onto the bus of a man who had once been taught by missionaries, had a baptismal date, and then lost track of the missionaries. WHAT?! So incredible!! He was so cool. He basically threw his number at us. We did service for the coolest black sister in the world. I love doing service. I cleaned windows like they have never been cleaned before. We taught some cool lessons and helped the Lord's children strengthen their faith. 

We had some CRAZY days where all of our plans fell through and we just had to find some miracles. We taught lots of lessons anyway :) 

I woke up on Wednesday with a terribly sore throat... I still have the remnants of the cold... it has now moved to my nose and head... I BLAME THE WEATHER! It was freezing cold one day, then super hot the next day, then it was rainy. I am cold in the morning and then sweating the night. I seriously cannot explain how sick I was of being sick... then things got worse the next day.

So, Thursday morning I woke up with a rash on my legs, from my ankles to my knees, and my arms

from my elbow to my shoulders... so weird, right? It was strange and it got worse everyday. So, the mission nurse asked me to go to the emergency room... so we get TOTALLY lost going to the hospital, end up walking around Clermont for like an hour calling members, and when we finally found it, there was no one there! We knocked on the door and on the windows and no one came!! So we walked around outside for a minute and then came back and I knocked harder on the window and then someone came and yelled at me for knocking on the window... sorry lady. Then they made us wait and then I went back and he looked at my weird rash. After being in his presence for 3 minutes and him touching my leg with gloves on, he said he didn't know what it was and gave me a prescription for I don't know what. He said I probably just had an allergic reaction to the sun... But its been freezing cold, so I've been wearing tights and jackets... SOOOO, I think it's just a stress thing. I don't know. We shall see!! But that has been the strangest part of the week, haha. The sickness and rash were big oppositions for the other wonders of the week! I am on like 3 prescriptions right now, haha. I hope my body stops fighting back!! I have 6 weeks to give it my all! 

So, we had a super sweet district meeting this week.... and I forgot to tell you all the cool celebrity in our mission. TJ Haws, BYU basketball star, is in our mission!! Not just in my mission, but in my district! He's so chill. Just wanted to rub it into everyone's faces that I have ins with the BYU basketball team... Its funny to think that he's a missionary right now, and in like 2 years I'll be cheering his name in the Marriot Center, hahaha. 

Vahiné had her baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our favorite Tahitian family has a new member :) Méhorani Villierme. SO ADORABLE! It was such a joy to go see the beautiful little girl in the hospital with Anne-Flore, our ami. We spent a glorious moment together. The Spirit was close. I was in the presence of a perfect person this week. I felt so uplifted. Adorable pictures attached below :)

So, the most wonderful part of the week was Friday night... AMANDINE GOT BAPTIZED!!!! It

was so fantastic. It's been a long time coming. Her first date was the 5th of July.... and she entered the font the 26th of September 2014. It was such a joyous occasion for our whole ward! The Young Adults helped ENORMOUSLY! Picking her up for activities, bringing her to church, teaching with us, being her friend. She is so integrated it's crazy. We were all really touched by this opportunity to see one of our friends join the church and make a promise with our Heavenly Father. Her confirmation was also simple, delicate, and beautiful. The Spirit was ever present. I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of this miracle!! I even printed out a picture of Soeur Grunke and carried it around with me the whole night... Cause she was just as much a part of this process as I was :) She deserved to be there! I love and miss her... anyway, the whole experience was wonderful, even the yummy goodies we devoured afterwards :)

I have never been more nervous for transfer calls in my life... I had to meditate in my bedroom during personal study because I thought my heart was going to jump out of my throat!! We had done Bible Prophecies the day before  to predict our futures... I received Proverbs 5:4 (But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword.), 3 Nephi 17:8 (For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you.), and Doctrine and Covenants 75:11 (Praying always that they faint not; and inasmuch as they do this, I will be with them even unto the end.)  Can I just say that as we read these out loud during District meeting the missionaries were YELLING!! Like, what?! The scriptures knew that I was dying this transfer! We were freaking out, haha. So my future didn't seem too bright... except that maybe I would be healed of my stress rash, hahaha. I was super excited when President told me I would be training again. It will help me feel young :) 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord. I love my mission more than anything in the world! The France Lyon Mission is the greatest mission in the world. We see miracles. Angels are constantly around us. I know that the Lord is pushing us forward, supporting us in every way possible, moving my feet, filling my mouth with words, and placing elect in my path. 

Stay strong. Keep the faith. Keep moving Forward. The Lord is there. He loves us. I love him. I love you. Have a wonderful week ^^

Avec tout mon amour,

Soeur Beeny