Happy Belated Halloween!!!!!!!

Dear tout le monde, Happy Belated Halloween!!!!!!! It's my favorite holiday and I was pretty bummed beforehand thinking that they didn't really celebrate it here. However, I got a great Halloween card from you and also from the Activity Girls in the Byrd Springs Ward. What a great surprise! Also, I had been saving the dry mix for pumpkin cookies that you gave me for my birthday to bake on Halloween and they were delicious. Then we also had two groups of Trick- or- Treaters come by. We had left over candy for the first group, but none for the second. The second group smelled the cookies though and asked for them. I gave them the left over chocolate that we put in the cookies (the chocolate chips here are way expensive. It's cheaper to buy a bar and chop it up).  And THEN, we decided to dress up as an apartment and take pictures. Soeur Soares and I wore Boubous (sp?) that our new district leader bought us. Soeur Alley was a hipster and Soeur Ingram was a beggar. It was such a great Halloween because I got to do everything I would normally do for Halloween!! I'm glad to hear that you and dad also had a fun time for Halloween. I'm also glad to know that you'll have people over for Thanksgiving. It'll be pretty tough not celebrating it this year. Maybe an American family in the ward will invite us over or something. Although we only have one... Thanks for sending that picture of Chelsie and Grady, they both look great! I'm also glad to hear that people are getting my cards. You can send me more addresses now if you'd like Mom and Dad. Wow! Michael comes home next month! Crazy that Laura can say that now. And it's funny that he's coming home exactly one year before me, to the day. Dad, we probably run about a mile every day. We go about 25 minutes total, although I normally have to take about 3 walking breaks. Last week we had to go to the prefecture to figure out Sr. Soares' legality and then it rained and now she had tendonitis and can only leave the apartment for rendez-vous for the next week, so we aren’t running now. We're still progressing with Delphine slowly, but surely. We even thought that maybe she would be able to get baptized next week, but she didn't come to church again, which is kind of important. However, during our last lesson I saw that she still has a strong testimony, which was a comfort to me. We just need her to understand the important of her actually getting baptized and coming to church. We randomly found Mireille at the train station on Friday! Turns out she was sick and had to stay in Africa another three weeks. We're going to try to pass by her place tomorrow. We had two really great lessons with Severine and she says she believes everything we teach her except for the fact that she needs to be baptized by someone with authority. However, Sr. Soares says she's seen this many times and often people still get baptized. The cute thing was that her daughters even said they would pray to know if it was true. And one of them asked to have their own copy of the Book of Mormon. Also, Severine gave out two copies of the Book of Mormon to her friends from Togo, although one of them gave it back, it's a good sign though! We've also been working more with some new less-actives that I've never met. We feel really good about at least one of them and maybe another after tonight! Before I finish I'd like to share a special moment that I had with a family in the Torcy ward. They are a family I've become close to, especially since their daughter is my age and will be leaving on a mission to Arizona next week. They're the Peruvian family I told you about a few weeks ago. We were eating lunch with them and a friend of theirs from Spain after church. The mother (you I'd like you to meet someday mom, she's so great) and the friend were talking about gospel related subjects in Spanish while I played UNO with the younger kids. Even though I couldn't understand what was being said, I could FEEL it. There were many tears of joy through out the whole conversation. Then it was time for us to leave and the friend gave the prayer. The prayer was so sincere and so full of love for Heavenly Father and the Savior that none of us could talk for a full minute after. And we started singing hymns for another minute. Moments like those remind me why I'm a missionary. So everyone in the whole world has the same opportunity to feel this happiness. I love the gospel so much. It brings true joy to those that accept it. I hope everyone who reads this is doing well. I love you all! Bethany PS - The attached picture is of Bethany and 2 Sister Missionaries from Germany who had finished their missions and were returning home.

Oi!

Oi! Apparently that's how you say hello is Portuguese! Sr. Soares (Bethany's new Brazilian companion) hit the ground running when she got here to Torcy. The rumor that she never quits is definitely true! She saw that things have been slow, but that didn't stop her. She immediately had me start calling former “amis” and inactives that the missionaries haven't seen in a long time. We've had double the amount of rendezvous that we normally have in a full week in just the past 5 days. And our schedule for the next week is filling up fast. She just has no many fresh ideas on how to find people. I'm learning so much from her. She's also taught me the importance of really getting to know the members. Also, that I don't need to be afraid of asking too many questions when we meet someone, member or not. The French don't normally like being asked even simple questions like "where are you from?" which is why Sr.Dremeaux didn't do it. But I have the excuse of being American and Sr. Soares being Brazilian. Plus, it really doesn't throw people off that much and I think they enjoy the conversation a lot more. We only had one lesson with Delphine again and she didn't come to church. We're worried that she doesn't understand the commitment she's making to be baptized. We have another lesson set for today on respecting the Sabbath and we've decided we need to be bold so she understands what the Lord expects from her. I know she has a testimony and I know that she really does want to be baptized, but it wouldn't be fair if she didn't totally understand what is expected of her. Good news is that if all goes well we might have her baptism next week! Also, she brought her friend with her again!! We also taught a woman named Anne-Marie who is the neighbor of a member. It was very spiritual and I think she understands now that God is our literal Father in Heaven and not just a spiritual being or idea. We committed her to pray about the Book of Mormon which she seems excited to do. Unfortunately, there is a two week holiday for the whole country and she, like everyone else, is going to be out of town. I found out from one of Mireille's daughters that she has been home from Africa for a long time. I'm really confused as to why she won't answer the phone when we call. I really hope her family didn't tell her bad stuff about the church while she was away. The Ward held a classical music concert performed by a very musical family in the Ward. It was actually very professionally done because most of them are professionals. There were a lot of non-members there and we got some contacts. Also, Sr. Soares is a harp major at BYU and had the chance to play the harp afterward. The woman who loaned the harp to the church was there and said she could play it for free when she wanted. She also suggested they do a duet. We're hoping that we can use this as an opportunity to spread the gospel. Well, from everything that I've heard from you and my friends who write me, it looks like I picked a good year to miss BYU football. However, I always want BYU to do well. I liked seeing the picture of the missionaries. (We sent her some pictures we took at the BYU-Georgia Tech game) It's cool that their President let them go. I'm pretty sure President Poznanski wouldn't do that except if it was on a P-day. That warm weather you've been having sounds great! As soon as September hit, it got pretty cold here, probably stayed between 55 and 65 Fahrenheit until two Sundays ago. Then it was very warm and pleasant for about three days. However, ever since transfers on Wednesday, it's been very cold. Two days ago it was 1 degree Celsius! It will probably stay cold until March. However Mom you don't need to worry, I have two good coats, several scarves, gloves and two pairs of boots so I think I'll be fine. I do wish I had nylons that are really thick, but they don't sell them here. They're all really light weight. However, Sr. Soares has given me a pair of thick ones that should be good. Yay, to Brianne for her baby girl! I can't wait to hear when she arrives in December. Only a little more than a month away! That's funny that Donna Andrus contacted you mom. What's really funny is that my roommate Soeur Alley’s sister is married to Donna's brother. I guess when I posted that picture of her a few months ago Donna saw it and told Sr. Alley's family. However, I had no idea she was the teacher for the Lyon mission president’s children. Tell her that it is the 12th of October issue of Elle, pg. 126. I guess she reads these emails so she already knows. So I'll talk to her directly: Hey Donna! How did your Master's Thesis go? I still want to read it when I get back home. I also can't wait to hear where Jesse in going on his mission. I recently read an article in the Liahona about a young man in the Finnish army and how he spread the gospel with others during that time. I definitely thought of Jesse. That's all for this week, Bethany

New Transfer

Hello World! Well, on Saturday we found out the changes for the new Transfer. As I predicted, I'll be staying here in Torcy for another transfer and Sr. Dremeaux is leaving for Cholet on Wednesday. She's been in Torcy for 6 months now so it really isn't a surprise. Cholet is in the middle of nowhere, but Sr. Dremeaux has been in very populated areas since she started so it was about time. She'll also have to use a car because there isn't much public transportation. And in France that means it isreally in the middle of nowhere. However, she just found out that her sister lives in the same Stake (area of the Church) as Cholet so she'll get to see her at Stake conference! Everybody in the Ward said goodbye to Sr. Dremeaux yesterday at church and then again 3 hours later during the baptism of the Mejia boy in the ward. Everybody wrote in her "Soeur Book" and took pictures with here. Torcy really is such a warm and welcoming ward.  My new companion is named Soeur Soares (pronounced as Suarez in Spanish). She's from Brazil and she speaks Portuguese, English and French fluently. And probably Spanish. I recently met Sr. Soares because she and her current companion had to stay in our apartment Thursday night, because her companion (Sr. Pajoul, who's from France) is trying to get her U.S. visa to finally go to her actual mission in St.George, UT. (Just a note from Vicki: Bethany had a friend who recently served a mission in the St. George Temple Visitor’s Center. She told us that they got a huge number of tour buses filled with French tourists stopping there on their way from Las Vegas to all the National Parks in Utah/Arizona. The mission requested more native speaking French missionaries to help with the Temple tours. )I really liked Sr. Soares and was pleased to see that she'd be coming back to the apartment to stay! She's an extrovert like me and has a reputation of working very hard. I'm looking forward to that. The baptism on Sunday was a huge party! The Mejia family is Peruvian and they invited everybody and there was SO MUCH FOOD! There were a lot of non-members there and a lot of Spanish speakers. Where is Uncle Scott when I need him? There was one young woman named Lucille, a friend of the Mejia's 22 yr old daughter Cristy, who was very interested in the baptism and I talked a lot about the church with her. She even took our number and said she would call us. We've talked to her a little before because she's come to church and General Conference. It was good to have a really long time to talk with her though. Sadly, we haven't heard much from Delphine in the last week and were not able to teach her at all. I'm a little worried about her, but I also know that she was sick. I was sick with a terrible cold all last week so I understand how she feels. Hopefully, things will pick up with her this week. We taught Severine again and read the introduction of the Book of Mormon with her. She was very interested in all the people in the book and was glad to know that we don't worship Joseph Smith. When we asked her to pray about the Book of Mormon she said she already believed because it was about Christ. We asked to still pray about and she said she would. Then we asked if she would be baptized and she said no because she's already been baptized. I was wondering when that would come up in my mission. Since we hadn't taught her about Priesthood authority yet, we decided to talk about it more next time. BTW, her 8 yr old daughter was very interested the whole time again, so cute! Mireille was supposed to come back on Monday but we've tried getting a hold of her all week and got nothing. Considering that she normally answers our calls we suspect that she moved her return date back. I guess Sr. Soares and I will try again next week. My favorite miracle happened on a day when I was very sick. I was so stuffed up I couldn't sleep the night before and I did NOT feel like talking to people. As we started contacting I thought, "Heavenly Father I really don't feel like having to think in French" and then the thought popped into my head "if you have the faith to open your mouth I will give unto you what ye shall say in that very minute". So I tested it, and the first woman we talked to said she was busy. However, the second said she only spoke English!! Ah ha! I didn't have to speak in French and Sr. Dremeaux got to see me in my element. I also had a copy of the Book of Mormon in English that I had been carry around for 3 months and wondering if I would ever use it. I even tried taking it out of my bag one day, but I had the impression I should leave it in there. The woman turned out to be a Lebanese Christian convert who lives in Saudi Arabia. After we testified of the Book of Mormon she was very interested because she said she could see our passion for it and knew that we really believed. She promised to pray and look up more onmormon.org. I also warned her that in Saudi Arabia, if the church exists there, she would have to be the one to approach them because it's illegal for members to proselyte. Hope everybody is doing well! Don't forget, missionaries love letters!!! Bethany  Pictures: 1) Bethany with her companion Soeur Dremeaux 2) A family in the Torcy Ward 3) Food for baptism of the Mejia boy in the Ward 4) 5) 6) Photos of the French Elle Magazine article on missionaries in France which includes photos and an interview of Bethany's companion Soeur Dremeaux

These are a few notes for the family that Bethany sent along before she wrote her “public” email.

I did get the package and it was great. We loved listening to the “All-star” song! (A musical birthday card). Haha! Soeur Emilcy sang it all day, on a Sunday!!! It's so great having the black boots. I bought a dark gray jacket from H&M. Good quality and very warm, maybe even warmer than my long coat. I returned the brown skirt I bought.  However, the Sister I did exchanges with gave me a long brown one. Long skirts are allowed now on missions and everybody who saw me wear it Friday night said it looked good. I kinda like it even though I feel sort of like the gypsy beggars on the Metro. Haha!

Soeur Dremeaux has been in Torcy for almost 6 months so she'll probably be leaving on the next Transfer and I'll probably be staying. For awhile we thought there was going to be another huge group of “bleu” sisters (new missionaries) coming and everybody joked that I would have to train since I already knew French. However, recently we heard there will only be 2 coming, so I probably won't train (soooooo glad). However, I'm pretty sure I'm staying in Torcy.

I just mailed off my ballot. I think it should get there in time to be valid. I was able to print off my license and put it in there. The funny thing was that I needed two Americans to witness the envelope and I only had one living in the apartment. I had to wait a couple of days to get one of the Zone Leaders to witness it.

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Bonjour tout le monde!!!!!

This week was THE craziest, best week of my mission ever!!!!!

Quick thing before the really exciting stuff, there is one town where we serve where there are a million businesses, hotels, etc named Paxton. They were pretty ritzy looking too. So weird, right? Paxton is an English name. I enjoyed pointing to my nametag to the people we contacted on the bus while passing the Paxton hotel. I took some pictures and will try to send them later.

Tuesday was crazy because we had to do a lesson, district meeting and exchanges. Our lesson was with a woman we had never met before and we didn't have much hope for because she had already rescheduled twice. However when we got there she (Severine) welcomed us openly and introduced us to her husband and children. A young family!!!! We taught a great lesson on the family which she said really touched her. Her 8 yr old daughter was very interested and was excited when we invited them to tour the church. They forgot to some on Saturday, but we made another appointment with them.

Then we went to District meeting and were seriously spiritually uplifted. The Elders in our District are amazing! Then the sisters from Rouen arrived for exchanges. I went with Soeur Alves (from Tahiti) to Rouen and her companion Soeur Barrero stayed with Sr. Dremeaux. Soeur Alves is very exuberant and fun to be with. We taught a new member and her non-member mother in English which was fun for me. It was also very spiritual. The new member was so happy to have found the gospel. And then the next morning we taught a less-active member of the Church. She was upset with people in her Ward (congregation) and it was hard to get her to forgive them. I hope one day she can move on. I soooooooo want to serve in Rouen sometime.

While I was gone, Sr. Dremeaux had a great lesson with Delphine which made me glad. Then we had another lesson with her on Saturday and she brought a friend, who we had met before. After the lesson, her friend, Mailyse, said she felt the spirit despite the fact that she's always been a skeptic. She said she wanted to cry during the lesson. Who knew a lesson on fasting could cause so much joy?! The Lord did. She says she wants to be baptized, but wants to finish the book she is writing first. We'll have to see about that…. Also, Delphine quit her job so she doesn't have to work on Sundays anymore!!!!!! Unfortunately we had to move Delphine's baptism to November during her vacation from school, but as long as it happens right?

So Saturday night I got a call from a man in the Torcy ward who also works as the church's Public Relations person in France. He said a journalist was going to be coming to church the next day to take pictures of Sacrament meeting and then interview the Sister missionaries. Then he had to go over a few things with me so I would be prepared, like "what is the church's stance on the election in the U.S?" (Answer: there isn't one, vote your own conscience.) Stuff like that.

The interview was pretty simple, especially since I'm not fluent in French. She asked where I was from and if I thought that the church was growing slower in France than in the U.S. I said yes, but really only because the church hasn't been here as long. I just hope she doesn't twist that into me saying that France will be overrun with Mormons in 30 years. Haha!  She kept asking if being a missionary was hard, but we kept saying, “a little of course, but the blessings outweigh it by so much”.  It was funny when she asked if we lived with the Elders. Our enthusiastic “NO!” startled her and she asked if we didn't like them or something. Hahaha! So funny!

Also, the Elle magazine article with Sr. Dremeaux came out Friday. I'm not sure if it will be in the American one though so I'll try to send pictures of the article.

They announced my birthday in Relief Society and everybody kept saying “Joyeux Anniversaire” all day. It was really great. Then after I broke my fast, we ate the amazing birthday cake Sr. Dremeaux made and s'mores with the graham crackers Mom sent. It was a pear and chocolate cake. Mmmmm!

Whew! I think that's all. I hope everyone had a great week.

Bethany