Bbbbboooonnnnjjjjoooouuuurrr!!!!!!

Whew, I've been trying to think of creative ways of addressing these emails and I'm running low on ideas. Sorry for the silliness!

I can't wait to see all of the pictures that Dad took on his trip! And hear about it too!

I'm glad to hear about the ward turning out to help the Olsens. I've been reading a lot in Liahona articles lately about how a huge part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is serving others. Life can be difficult, but it's rare for things to be so bad that serving someone who's got it worse doesn't help. "By becoming the answer to someone else's prayer we often find answers to our own" - Dieter F. Uchtdorf (Thanks for the quote SisterRroberts!)

A big welcome back to the McHowells!!! I know that Byrd Springs has missed you!

 

This week we dropped Sr. Callister off at Rue St. Merri for transfers and I got to catch up with things going on in my old areas and with old companions. Miracles: her first day in her new area, Sr. Callister met someone who lives in St. Ouen! This lady was so excited to hear more about the gospel that she called Sr. Callister a few days later and said "Why haven't your friends called me yet?" We're going to teach her Tuesday.

I got to see Sr. Alley for the first time in six months! She and I lived together the first six months of our missions when she was a bleu in Nogent and I was a bleu in Torcy, longer than we were with any of our companions.

 

The new missionaries were not numerous this transfer, but Sr. Poznanksi said the next group would be quite big. Still growing!!!

This week we kept preparing Chriso for his baptism for this Saturday. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation and also encouraged him to tell his wife about his decision. Although, we knew she wouldn't be happy, the church really encourages honestly in the family. Chriso didn't want to at first, but we promised him that if he acted in faith, things would turn out alright. In the end he said he would talk with her.

We also met twice with Aisata and fixed a baptism date with her! It'll be the 31 of August. She surprised us by saying that she was actually Muslim, but had converted to Christianity in her heart in her 20s. However, she didn't feel right in any of the churches she visited, which is why she had never been baptized. We were so surprised! She said that this weekend she was going to tell her parents that she was a Christian because she would like their support. She knows her Dad won't be happy, but she's hoping he'll be supportive. The biggest worry is that he has a bad heart and the shock could be too much for him. We've been praying a lot for her this weekend.

We also taught one of our neighbors in the building we live in, Olga. She's a young mother who is going through a rough time because her husband is living with another woman. He pays for her apartment and comes by to see their baby and eat, but that's it. I felt so bad for her! We've been praying that she'll make the right decision concerning her relationship with him.

I also feel that during this week, we were placed in the path of a lot of other people, like Olga, who are really struggling with life or just questions. I love seeing the look in their faces when they realize that we have something that they've been looking for. It's really been a testimony builder for me to see so clearly the hand of Heavenly Father in this work.

 

Funny-thing-story time: African mothers, like Olga, have no problem nursing during our lessons. This has happened multiple times for me, but it was the first time for Soeur Gordon. It was so funny as she tried to focus and teach the lesson we had prepared! Oh, good missionary times! Haha!

Bethany