What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - September 22, 2014

What a blessed week. We were able to teach loads of people and see TONS of miracles! I'll start off with a cool miracle and then I'll fill you in on our amis... so on Friday we were supposed to have 6 lessons. 3 of them fell through, and the first 2 were a disaster, so I was pretty bummed out. I was trying to not freak out, but I sadly lost my smile. My companion, being the saint that she is, prayed in her heart that something would happen to bring my smile back to my face. As we were walking down the road, a couple walking a few feet in front of us suddenly stopped, turned around, and the man told us he knew who we were and he was really impressed with our church and our values and our diligence as missionaries. He is a believer, and his girlfriend isn't. He asked us to present our church to his girlfriend, right then, right there. We were able to teach the restoration. It was a miracle. I was smiling ear to ear! She explained that she has been having a really hard time, and that she could see in our eyes that we were a hopeful people and that joy was the reason we lived and did what we did. They didn't give us their information, but they took our card, and when she saw the address to the chapel she said she lives just beside us. They promised us they would contact us, come to church, and that they would begin learning more. I could see they were sincere, and as I looked into the eyes of the man, I knew that he had been sent from God to answer my companions prayer. I knew it. So, rough days, that what doesn't kill me, will make me stronger, if we trust the Lord and His plan for us. Pray for this couple to contact us. They are elect, I'm sure of it. Their names are Amandine and Serge.

So, we went to Ikea for PDay last week... Sups fun.
 

We taught some creepy people this week, haha. It happens.... lots of weird things have been
happening to us this transfer, like daily things happen that have never happened to me during my mission. It's now a ritual that every time something weird happens, Soeur Verrieras turns to me and asks "Has this ever happened to you before?" And I look at her and say "HECK NO!" hahaha, then we joke that she is cursed... But seriously, hahahaha. SHE'S CURSED.

We had a wonderful lesson with the Ferreira family. They still seem like a really elect family. Lea, the 15 year old read, even though her mom hadn't, haha. But our Plan of Salvation lesson was wonderful, and Nazila, the little 9 year old wanted to pray at the end of the lesson. IT WAS SO CUTE! Pray for them that they will find the hope that this message brings, and that they will keep their engagements and read and pray :) Family of 4!!

Amandine has been throwing me through a roller coaster ride! Seriously! Things go really well, and then she wouldn't answer the phone for like 2 days and I'd freak out and then we'd have a super great lesson... wow. I was just stressed out this week, to be honest. But we shared 3 Nephi 13:25-33 with her... about putting God first. She wouldn't answer the phone again on Saturday and she didn't come to the ward activity, so I was worried... We were brainstorming Saturday night, cause we were worried she wouldn't come to church. We remembered that she is a very serving person, so we texted her and asked her to bring us something to church. She responded and said she would be happy to bring it, and then she apologized for being so distant during the week, and then we set up a ride for her to come to church the next day... She came to church in her skirt, SO CUTE, and then she stayed after church for HOURS so that she could be with the JAs, haha. She is wonderful. Such a sweet spirit. Everything is looking up for the baptism this Friday. Pray that everything will go well!!

Thursday we had a wonderful district meeting in Lyon... And I had to translate for my companion. She told me later, after having spoken French with everyone all day, that my French was INCREDIBLE. She thought that all missionaries spoke at my level, and she saw during the meeting that it wasnt true, hahaha. So, that was a boost to my morale, even though I have been pretty tired recently, and my comprehension has lowered. BUT ITS OKAY! haha

So, we have a super cool ami named Colette. She is from Albi France, and she just moved here for

her studies... so she's actually from Angola Africa. She's so amazing. She speaks like 5 languages. She is a very active Christian. She one time saw a Mormon film, and was pretty touched. When she saw our church building in Albi, she was stunned, and went to church one Sunday! She was very touched by the testimonies of the members, and she is continuing with us :) we had some wonderful lessons with her this week. During one of our RDVs, I told her that God loves her, and He's aware of her and her needs, and He hears her prayers. She began to cry, and said that we had answered her prayers. She even came to our young adult FHE! She loved it. She told us that before she came to Clermont, that she prayed she would find friends that were real Christians that don't drink or smoke or live immorally... when she told us that at FHE, our group leader said "Welcome to the answer to your prayers." SO cool. She even accepted a soft baptismal invite. Pray for her to progress and to read to know that these things are true!

We had a fun FHE at the Villiermes house with Anne-Flore. We made Poisson Cru with them!! Its a famous Tahitian raw fish meal. YUM! We were able to be more serious with Anne-Flore and let her ask questions and tell her how much our message could bless her and that we want to share this joy with her. She is super cool... Slow but steady :)

Our members have been wonderful... We had some really great opportunities to teach with them and even meet their friends! We had a super cool ward activity this weekend too! It was a carnival theme! ahhahaha, you can imagine what I did :) BALLLOOOOONNNSSS! It was so much fun. I love making balloons. We also had a spiritual thought, and they asked me to sing "Consider the Lilies"... So I got to share lots of talents that night. I love our ward.

The last great thing of the week was Soeur Bartin's Birthday!! She is now 78 years old. Shes such a

cute lady... I love feeling the love the Lord has for His children. He is so mighty and great.

Just like the Savior teaches us in 3 Nephi 13:25-33, if we place our trust in the Lord, He will provide the way and bless us with more than we know. Consider the Lilies, how they turn. We are worth buckets more than lilies Brothers and Sisters. If we place the Lord in the center of our lives, we will not go wrong. Everything else will fall into place, we will be blessed, and we will be happy and at peace. Turn to the Lord. He loves you. I love you. I love Him. Have a wonderful week :)

Avec tout mon amour,

Soeur Beeny