Ding Dong Ding Dong (Doorbells We Ported)

(Read with English Accent) MERRY CHRISTMAS HARRY!! Oh how I miss the holiday seasons in America... but they are quite lovely here in the beautiful French alps!! I feel so blessed to be here. We were able to take a trip to Lyon this past week for a 5 zone Christmas Conference!! We got the coolest mission watch from the Roney family! I will attach a picture. One of the elders dressed up as Santa and distributed the gifts :) hahaha, they passed out all of the presents that have been sent in from around the world for missionaries. It was quite magical to say the least. Some missionaries walked away with too many packages to carry by themselves and their companion! It was so much fun. Us four sisters decided we wanted to save our gifts for Christmas morning, so we didn't open them. We opened our companions packages and wrapped them for each other! Our tree is surrounded by news paper wrapped gifts :) oh the life of a poor missionary! Haha, its very cute. We are ecstatic!! Anyway, the conference was beautiful. President focused on how one birth can change the world! It was, as always, centered on the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have never had such a spiritual experience yet on my mission. Soeur Richardson and I were brought to tears for a majority of the conference. They also revealed our objective for 2014 as well!! They told us that we wouldn't be baptizing anymore... but that we would be baptizing FAMILIES!! Soeur Richardson and I were overjoyed by this idea seeing as we have felt like there has been a family waiting for us since we arrived here... well gosh darn it are we pumped now!! We have felt the love of the Savior during this season, and we have been trying our best to share this love with all those around us. 

 

So last PDay we actually took 3 hours more of Missionary work so that we could stay in Lyon for a few more hours and venture around!! We were able to ride the HUGE ferris wheel there and had a BLAST! It was magical to say the least. We took some beautiful pictures around all of the lights. I hope I get to serve in Lyon one day, cause dang. It's so full of life!! It was a fun experience for us.

We had a rough week numbers wise because most of our amis are out of town for the holidays! We dropped Lucien this week because he is not making time for us, even when we know he most definitely could. Its always sad to drop an ami, but I know that he will recognize the absence of the

spirit in his life and he will want to come back soon. He needs some time to suffer so he will be humbled. We all do it. We were able to teach Yorrick this week!! He said some pretty inspirational things regarding the LdeM and Joseph Smith. He always talks about how he can feel the power of God when he holds the LdeM in his hands. Wowzers. He is still just as golden as ever... we taught him the gospel of Christ and invited him to be baptized. And he said YES! How incredible. We didn't set a date with him because we are silly... but he will be in Marseille with family until January 5th, which is no bueno. We are worried, but trying to stay positive. We will keep updates on him. He is in contact with the Elders there, so hopefully he will go to church there. They have a great ward I guess. He also mad us some sweet Christmas gifts in his metal welding class!! Haha, he made me a Christmas tree and he made Soeur Richardson a SICK elephant. Hes too cool for words.

We ended up having a RDV with Yves and I've at the same time because we got our schedule mixed up... its hard having two amis with the same name! So the RDV wasn't very productive because they had never met, and they instantly hit it off! But they both committed to live the Word of Wisdom. They are making BEAUTIFUL progress. We also set there baptismal dates for January 18th. We are very excited and ready to continue to help them to progress towards this first beautiful covenant they need. They will both be out of town for quite some time as well. YIKES! So pray for all of our amis to be wise during their holiday seasons and to read and pray everyday so they can stay strong in their paths!

We may not have been able to see many amis, but we were able to see lots of members and many less actives. We made the cutest cookie bags and went caroling to the members! We were able to SPARK them like crazy. They have really come to love us. We touched their hearts, that is for sure. We went to Pont de Beauvoisin one morning this week to hit three less active families with our glorious harmonies of Angles We have Heard on High. We were so lucky, and we knew the Lord was helping us, because all three of the families were home, and they invited us in. We felt so lucky to get to know them and share just a little bit of the Christmas Spirit with them. We focused on reading Luke 2:8-20 with them. We discussed the sign of the angel and the humble state of the shepherds and their exceeding joy in sharing their knowledge of the new born king with everyone they met. We must do the same!! The less active families in our branch are so sweet... and they just need a little love.

We went to eat with the Menet family, a couple that has been inactive for a year now. We felt very impressed to talk about the atonement and forgiveness with them, because President told me that we always need to invite the members to repent and be happy. So we talked about it after a delicious couscous meal, and I was brought to tears. The Spirit dwelt with us as we discussed the love and sacrifice of the Savior. Frere Menet told us that he was holding a grudge against a couple of members in the Branch and that he had finally understood the atonement enough to forgive these men and return to church with his wife, where they belonged. I was so touched and they both personally thanked me yesterday at church me for the spirit we brought into their home. It is so homey to see all of the less actives at church... we may not have had many amis at church yesterday, but there were 9 less/inactives. We felt like we did some good this week.

In between caroling to members, we also caroled to random homes; we usually choose HUGE houses that look like mini castles that could have families. There was this gorgeous gothic house in the middle of nowhere with a heavenly gate in front of it... it looked deserted, but we decided to try anyway. Almost immediately after we rang the sonnerie, the huge gates began to open... CREEPY!! We looked at each other, but didn't know what to do, but we went inside. A family lives there. Only one of the sons was there, but he let us sing to him and then we left him our card and headed on our way. It was a dream come true. We spread some Christmas cheer this week.

We went to Aix les Bains to visit our awesome re-activat

ed member Frere Naccaro. As we were walking to the café, a cute Christmas parade came dancing through the streets! We also had a couple of funny instances where I fell... Twice that is. Once on a bus where I was trying to take off my jacket and totally biffed it as we took a corner. And then last night I jumped into my desk chair with a little too much force and it fell over in the middle of the living room... my chair landed on the garbage can, and I smooshed it. It was too funny! My clumsiness was a source of laughter this week... as always.

Our Christmas day will be spent at the church with a few amis and members who would otherwise be alone this year... at first we were a little bummed not to be in the warmth of a members home, but we know that the Lord has truly blessed us with this opportunity. We are overjoyed at the idea of being with those people and helping them feel surrounded by the love of the Savior as we celebrate His birth. What a beautiful occasion. I invite you all to help those that may feel alone, feel the love of the Savior during the Christmas holiday. After all, is that not what the season is about? Remember Him and do as He would do. You will be changed and you will feel His love for you as you show His love for them.

I love you all and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. He Lives. 

 

 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - December 16, 2013

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

 

 

I'll Be Home For Christmas - December 9, 2013

 

 

So I won't really be home for Christmas... But I am staying here in Chambéry with Soeur Richardson for another 6 weeks, and that's as close to home as I could feel!! Another transfer here will be very fun and rewarding. Soeur Pape has been transferred to Aix En Provence. There will be two new soeurs coming in later today. We hope they are cool, seeing as this transfer has many big birthdays, meaning Jesus's and MINE! 

We had a great last week of the transfer. Another extremely busy and jumbled week. We got home at 9:30 just about every night EXHAUSTED! We didn't have much of a PDay last week because we left for an exchange in Annemasse. Soeur Pape and I were with Soeur OConnors. We had a RDV with a potential named Patrick. We went to his apartment and were a bit shocked to find 4 welcome mats stacked on top of one another... weird. He opens the door and I am not sure I have ever been more... not scared.. JOLTED in my entire life. He had shoulder length white hair and looked like he had just walked out of an insane asylum... which he probably did. When he shook my hand he pulled me in and asked if I was French... I have never met such a pack rat in my life! He had a one roomed apartment. He had soo much stuff that he had a sliver of a walk way to the bed where we sat. We tripped over who knows what and were really creeped out by all of the weird pictures he had hanging on his walls, haha. He stood during the RDV fiddling with a tv trying to get a VHS player to work... really? I haven't seen one of those since I was like 7. It was sooo weird. He kept saying strange things and going off on tangents. Soeur OConnor tried getting him back on track like 12 times, to no avail. It was too funny. It was the most interesting RDV of my life. Soeur Pape was so scared afterwards that we went home, haha. Oh the joys of missions. 

We spent the rest of the exchange doing nothing too exciting. I do love having studies with other missionaries... I feel like I learn so much! Studies are fundamental as a missionary. It is kinda crazy to think that we take 3 to 4 hours a day to study, but the rest of the day rides on how spiritually enlightened your studies are. We met back up with the other soeurs in Geneve, so we spent an hour at the Swiss Christmas market before our train home!! So much fun :) The train ride home was sweet. We sat by this HUGE group of 20 year olds that kept asking us why we had multiple wives and how they can have multiple wives. French people think we are Omish. Seriously, that is why we are here, to convince French people that Mormons are really NOT omish people, haha. 

We had such fantastic RDVs this week!! One of our amis, Yves, is the biggest Phil Collins fan in the world... he literally stalked him. In his apartment he has a framed, hand written note from Phil that says "Thank you for your support. It is always such a surprise when fans show up at my front door. I don't appreciate it too much, so please leave me alone. - Phil Collins"... We are pretty sure that he has a restraining order, but its okay, because we had some great RDVs with him this week and he seems to be very interested. He has come to church a ton too because he was super curious.
We have another ami named Ive, and he is the largest lumber jack I have ever met in my life, but he is the biggest teddy bear too!! We had three great RDVs with him this week... the second of which we told him we would come to his house for! He lives in the hills, in a very old, large home... with no heating. He is probably pretty poor, but he had us over and we have herbal tea while we taught him the word of wisdom... well his tea cups were very, very dirty. They were probably very old and he probably inherited them with the house... So I and Soeur Pape both drank our tea, not wanting to be rude or anything, plus we didnt really think about it because we were focused on the lecon. Soeur Richardson was too scared though. She didnt drink any. We had a great lesson and Ive is going to start to quit smoking! YAY! So we left his house and we were walking down the road in the woods and then soeur pape and I were both not feeling very well... we had a dinner appointment with a family, and so we had time to kill before heading over. We were contacting by the elephants, but we both just thought we were gonna die. Literally, we told Soeur Richardson we were gonna die if we didnt find a bathroom immediately. Well welcome to France! Free public restrooms dont exist here! We thought we had cholera. After we got to the members we were fine. I am just grateful that I dont have a pooping my pants story... I will not be one of those missionaries. We had a great time with the members. The Gagginis family is a young family. They told us the story of how they met and constantly made jokes about French kissing, haha. They are too funny. Funny French people: just as rare as French Public Restrooms.

So I lost like everything I own this week because we were so busy teaching so many RDVs that we ran to catch every bus and train we took. I dropped one of my awesome gloves... so sad. We went back to find it later that night. I was praying so hard that we would find it. We were walking down the sidewalk and I saw something up the road. I was sure it was my glove! I turned to my companions and said "There it is! I told you we would find it!" So I ran ahead so filled with faith!... and then when I arrived, the thing on the ground that I thought was my glove was a giant pile of poop... whether dog, or human, we'll never know, but we laughed. It was a good end to the night. 

I am sorry that my email seems so crass... we really did have a great spiritual week filled with incredible RDVs. We think that Odile will continue to progress and be baptized. We were able to go over and help her unpack some stuff from the garage. We ate dinner together and then she pulled out a Liahona and we read together. The spirit was palpable. We also had a great RDV with Daniel about the WoW. He started off the lesson saying that he would have a hard time being mormon if he cant drink coffee and tea, but by the end of our spirit driven lesson, he told us that he would live the WoW and continue to do all he can to grow in his faith. 

We were really sad to send Soeur Pape off, because she is such a hard worker, but we know that we have another incredible transfer ahead of us. Pray for us to survive this cold weather and to be able to see our amis as much as possible so that they will be prepared for baptism. 

I love you all. Dont forget the reason for the season. Christ is our Savior. He came to this earth for us. What are you going to give to Jesus for Christmas? I challenge you all to decide, and do it. Show your faith and your love for our Redeemer. 

I love you all! Passez une belle semaine!

 

Avec tout mon amour,

Soeur Beeny