October 16, 2017

Make room for the trees!

We had 2 super good rendezvous this week!
The first on was with Victor, the guy I met in Paris last week. Turns out he has a wife and 2 kids, 1 one of them is just a month old. She is so cute! But he has studied quite a bit, he has read the bible a few times, and pretty much knows everything that goes on. He has so many correct beliefs, now they just need to be connected! We talked a lot about who we are and what our potential is. We talked about life is about progressing, trials are here to strengthen us. We made the analogy, when a child is first learning how to walk they have to fall so many times before they can do it by themselves. Well once a child falls, who is there to help them get back up? Their parents! Its the same with our Heavenly Father. He sent Jesus Christ to help us get back up every single time we fall in this life. It's was cool to discuss real doctrine with someone who already knew all the basics, he wanted to know all the little details of what we believe. Well we talked for 2 hours, by the end we were exhausted.

The second rendezvous we had was a real miracle! We had met this last a few weeks ago on the street and she was super willing to talk and discuss. She had been pretty busy since then but we sent her a text yesterday asking how her week was. She said it was good, we can't meet until November but then she asked us what we were doing right then! They were just walking around town, it was the perfect moment to ask! So we ran right into town and we met up with them and we talked for over an hour. Her husband actually joined the church in the 1970s when his parents met the missionaries, it has been over 30 years since he has been to church. One of the only thing he remembers is the articles of faith, one in particular. We believe in obeying and sustaining the laws, wherever we live. He is a judge in fact, so it made a pretty big impression on him. We just talked about goals in life and how God helps us to accomplish them. At the end right after we said the prayer, they both had tears in their eyes. Such a sweet moment! The gospel is true and we can feel that in our hearts. 

There is also a cool tree exhibit in place stanislas and we had a fun time walking through that!
Sœur Giles


















































Letter to Mom and Dad


Well not too much happened this week! We had those two really good rendezvous with new amis. We are super excited to teach families!!

We also went to Luxembourg. Its about a 2 hour train ride with a little stop in Metz. I was with Sœur Staley and this is her last transfer. We talked about byu, she is actually thinking about doing accounting as well. That was fun, We went contacting all day but we went to a smaller town called esch right near the French border. And the people were super nice there. Sorry didn't take any pictures. 

Also they put up this tree display in place stanislas. And it was super cool! We got to walk through it a few times. One day there was a bunch of old and handicapped people there and it was so fun to watch them explore and do some activites! There is a bridge and stepping stones across water, and a hammock. It's fun. Here are some random pictures of that!

Last night there was a broadcast to all the adult members of the Europe area. We heard from a few area seventy and also Elder Ballard. He warned against apathy. Do we feel the joy of having the gospel, of knowing about the restoration? We are the only church on the earth who has the truth why are we not being joyful and why are we not sharing it?? He said we can't let the church diminish here, it needs to grow! Then he told the members to share the gospel and find people for the missionaries to teach, it's the only way for us to find people! One of the members came up to us after and said we are hoping you will recieve some referrals soon!

 
I really really like the macarons here with raspberries in them, so delicious!!
And to run is courir. It is an irregular verb though so to conjugate it we say je cours,( I run ) nous courons (we run). Pretty fun! 

There was a fun relief society activity on Saturday as well. We did zumba and a relaxation time. During relaxation we got a small massage from one of the older ladies in the ward and it was awesome haha. The sœurs from Toul also came and whenever any one of us went up to get a massage she was like " missionary work is stressful huh? You need to take some time to relax! " we will see if we do! 

Have a wonderful week! Love you!
Sœur Giles

October 9, 2017

Another week gone!

This week was a full one! We had zone conference on Wednesday where President Sorenson trained us on how to use...Facebook!! It was quite long, about 7 hours spent trying to figure things out and learning but overall, seems like it will work well. At first it was interesting to think about, how are we supposed to not get distracted or off our purpose if we have this right in front of us? Well the next day we were in Paris to do some legality for Sœur Hunt. While the bleus were off doing their stuff, the trainers went contacting! Then I realized well we must already be extremely trusted. President Sorenson had left, same with the senior couple, it was just a group of 20 year olds all by ourselves in PARIS. But we did what we were supposed to! If we apply the same principle to Facebook, it will be a great tool! I am super excited! It will make staying in contact with investigators and other people we are working with so much easier.

Well Sœur McDonald and I went contacting together in Paris! She was in my group at the MTC so it was super fun to catch up. Well we had been out for just a few minutes and we stopped this man. We talked about the Book of Mormon and he accepted one! We were just down the street from the visitors center so we pointed to it and said that there are always missionaries there if you have time to stop by. We go on our way and a few hours later the elders ask hey which one of you stopped Victor? It turns out we did! They said he had just came by the vistors center and they taught him the whole restoration! Guess where he actually lives?! Nancy!! So Sœur Hunt and I have a rendezvous this Saturday with him. 

Also Wednesday night when we were at family night for the young adults, we talked about the story in the Pearl of Great Price where Moses was just called as a prophet by God. They had talked face to face, and Moses was able to learn about who he really is, a son of God. After that satan comes to Moses and says that he is a son of man and demands for him to worship him. Moses responds, no I am a son of God, I know who I am, where is your glory? He stood firm in his knowledge, no one could change that! Moving along to Thursday, again in Paris, we talk to a man. He tells us that we are strong enough to live our life without religion, religion causes war, not much good comes from it. On the other hand, he is content with his life, he helps out his neighbors and close ones, he is successful enough with his job. Then the thought popped into my head, hey this looks like the story of Moses! We had some uplifting words from the meeting earlier that day like we can do hard things, Christ is there for every single one of us no matter what. Now being faced with opposition, it was up to us to take the stand and say no I know who I am and I know in whom I put my trust. And that is in the Lord. He is our savior and He loves each one of us!

Have a great one!

Sœur Giles

Soeur MacDonald and Soeur Giles contacting together in Paris

Letter to Mom and Dad:
Okay not sure how long this one is going to be..i spent a lot of time cleaning today. While I was on power mode just scrubbing every hard surface in here Sœur Hunt was like you need to write your family or they aren't going to like you, we only get one day to talk to them, then I said we only get one day to deep clean. Basically you might have taught me too well Mom...
I cant believe Paige is having a baby!!!! Cute blanket, they will love it!
If you want a real french bathroom you should move the toilet into your bedroom (like where the tv is) but keep the tub and sink and everything else where it is. That's what they are like! Separated, atleast in homes and apartments, not in the church haha The toilet has a little 3 ft by 4 ft room all to itself. Kinda fun!
The week was good! Lots of meetings, not too many rendezvous, our amis are fine, haven't been able to see most of them in a while. But all is Well!
I learned the word ceuillir this week, it means to pick, like pick flowers. And the word gamin means kid. Most of the time people say enfant but I've been hearing that word more recently! I also have been working on the tense "would have done something" called conditional perfect in French. Like in the sentence "If I knew how to make carbonara, i would have put in the eggs before the cream." Yes this actually happened this week. We attempted to make carbonara but didnt quite know how to do it and ended up eating scrambled eggs and noodles. But the second time we made it, it turned out pretty good, pictures included.
I don't think I need anything for Christmas! Just some dried mangos would be perfect. I'm not sure where I will be for Christmas! Weird!
Hmm not much else happened this week! Its been an interesting adjust to have Facebook, we haven't been able to use it too much yet.
So you have been going go to gospel principles class? Are there any investigators? Do you have sisters or elders in the ward?
I really like most of the French hymns! They usually sound good, sometimes there is an extra note added but other than that mostly the same. Sometimes the wording is interesting, not as poetic but still pretty!
President and his family are super nice. Very enthusiastic to be out here. It's nice to be around them! We are setting a monthly baptismal goal now though, which is different from before. The goal for October is 32! We had 11 in September so it will be a stretch but very doable. Our zone has the goal for 4! Right now in Nancy there is an ami of the elders who has a date for the end of October and it is very possible he could be baptized! That would be cool.
Go Clay! He's a tough guy.
Thanks for your emails! Here's more pictures than last week! I forgot to send some that I took.
Love,
Sœur Giles

October 2, 2017

Dear Family and Friends,

One day during language study, Sœur Hunt felt the need to just go contacting as soon as possible! So we go out and start walking. At first we weren't really sure what to do so we just went to a street that we walk almost every day and starting talking to people. No one was really interested at first but then we talked to a super nice lady. After about 15 seconds, she asked if there is a way we could meet again? I'm on my way to work but I'd love to learn more, i think my husband has even searched into your religion before. Well of course these is a way we can do that! We exchange numbers and we called her a few days ago to set up a rendezvous and she says "so i talked with my husband about your religion and actually he was baptized a long long time into your church but doesn't remember a ton other than you meet every Sunday. We could probably come in the future. Also I started reading the Book of Mormon you gave me. We are busy this week but we would love to discuss more". It was such a cool moment to see someone take the initiative and actually be interested right away! Following the spirit works!

Also this week we helped a member's mom move. The new apartment was just down the street so instead of renting a truck we put everything in shopping carts and wheeled them down the road haha! The hard part was that they lived on the fourth floor of a building without an elevator and the stairs were spiraled and pretty shaky. It was an interesting sight seeing the fridge being carried down!

General conference was awesome! We were at the church to watch a session at 11 and then at 2 and then we were invited to watch the Sunday morning at a members house at 6! One theme that I picked out was that the Savior works one by one. He knows each of our needs, he has felt our pains, and he knows exactly how to help us. If we run towards him and grab a hold of his outstretched arms, we will find relief and peace.

Sœur Giles







Letter to Mom and Dad,

Thank you for your emails! Sad about the conference tradition but its okay we will do a nice batch of cinnamon and orange rolls next year! I enjoyed the PowerPoint, i hope to see Ruth sometime soon! We didn't watch the Kirkland video but that is cool! I have loved being able to share ancestor stories with people and hear them talk about theirs. And that's cool that you are going to institute with Brother/Elder Clark! The couple from the singles ward right? Learning with the help of the prophets makes everything make more sense. Elder Hales was a much loved prophet!

I'm not really sure what kind of details you are looking for but here is my best try to thinking of lots of things to say!
This morning I poured a bowl of cheerios but I had the thought to taste them before putting in milk because they had been there for a few weeks. Well took a bite and yep they were gross and stale. Good thing I didn't waste any milk!
Last night I took a lot of hair put of the shower drain, it smelled real bad. I wish we had one of those tools to pull it out but I had to use my fingers.
Last district meeting we had a nice discussion about the lesson of the restoration and people were talking about how this has been a great experience to actually read the book of Mormon all the way through. I was a little confused...when I was 12 I read it all the way and wrote notes on every chapter. That is definitely a gift of the spirit to have a desire to read it since I was younger. So I have to put that into use. We started doing contacting this week by jumping to the book of Mormon this week and we handed out five! Our goal is 30 this transfer. Then we were wondering if it actually does make a difference, do they just throw it away or collect dust? Well then we had lunch with some members, a mom and son and one of the mom's friends on Friday. She told us how she joined the church. They had given her a book of Mormon and it sat on her table for a long time just collecting dust and more dust. One day she decided to actually read, it had to be important right? Well she started and read 1 Nephi 1 and then 2 and then 3 and then she called the missionaries because she had questions. Now a few of her sons have joined the church and one of them came back from a mission a few years ago. So yes! They do work miracles!
We talked to a lady on the street who was just a little bit crazy. She was born catholic but didn't like that priests can't marry. Anyways she wasn't interested in meeting with us but all the sudden she put her hands on Soeur Hunt's face and gave her a nice kiss on both of her cheeks and then proceeded to do that same to me haha then she walked away! We laughed about that for a good few minutes.
So our mission will be getting Facebook this transfer, I don't really know any details other than that because we will be trained at zone conference this week. But some people are really bummed about it. I wasn't at all! Its definitely not my first choice but if the prophets wants us to use it, of course I am going to! Then I realized I had been prepared for this change a few weeks ago. i read the book our heritage from the missionary library and it talked about the declarations 1 and 2 in doctrine and covenants and the family proclamation. Well I had the thought hey God inspired those prophets just as much as he did to Joseph Smith. Well duh everything we believe is based on continual revelation so of course all those prophets are really called of God and have his authority. It was great preparation for general conference and for the change in the mission. I know that the Lord is moving His work forward and I am grateful to be apart of it.
What else... oh in the mall you have to pay to use the bathroom and we were sitting in the chairs next to it downloading a video to use later and we watched at least 5 people try to stick the coin in the bill slot. It was kind of funny because the coin slot was about 5 centimeters under the bill slot.
Also this week I started reading the new testament and writing down all the questions Christ asked during his recorded ministry, well there a ton. But as I was watching conference I kept writing down reflecting questions like the ones Christ asked! I liked seeing that influence how the Spirit talked to me.
The young adults in the ward are preparing to do a musical number soon and they chose we'll bring the world his truth and they asked us to sing with them. It has been fun learning it in French.
Training is hard! Sometimes it feels more like an introduction to life rather than just to missionary life. I am very grateful for my time at college and the bigger perspective that has given me on everything.
We were at our meeting with the ward mission leader and he was asking us if we liked cats or dogs better. (He is Mexican and knows Spanish french English and Portuguese) well since I have been here I have come to appreciate the cleanliness of new homes and come to dislike furry animals. So instead of picking a dog or cat I said I like fish! Well he looked at me funny and started laughing saying ok I am going to explain one more time very slowly do you like cats or dogs, i still said fish haha we have some good times with him! We are planning a Halloween party for the ward and he is super excited.
Well that's about it or this week! Thanks for all that you do, thanks for supporting me to be out here, i really really appreciate all you do and all that you have taught me! You are wonderful!
Love,
Sœur Giles

September 25, 2017

Want to spend pretty much all 4 seasons in Nancy? Sign me up!

Sœur Hunt and I get to stay another 6 weeks together! That will make more than 7 months for me here. I love it!!

We had a good rdv with our ami Joseph. We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He doesn't have a lot of background or understanding of his role so it was cool to see him understand that yes Christ did die for us and yes He suffered for us but because of that we can be resurrected one day and we can be free of all sin and pain. Those two things make eternal life possible. Jesus Christ is essential.

Well we were talking and Joseph was saying how he doesn't quite understand all that we say but everything he reads he believes! We had the opportunity to ask him to be baptized and he said yes!! Although he doesn't quite understand all of it and he is moving in a few days, he does have the desire to continue and act! The best part was that we got to teach with a couple in the ward and they helped so much! They explained everything so clearly. I never want to teach without members again!

We also had a really good street contact. It was a young girl, maybe 23 and we talked for about 20 minutes! She was very open and interested to why we are here. We told her all about the restoration, even recited the first vision, gave her a book of Mormon, got her number, set up a rendezvous for just a few days later. We were so excited!! She seemed really touched. Well fast forward an hour and we receive a text from her saying she doesn't want to meet anymore. That was a little heart breaking but oh well. She's missing out!

We also received a referral from temple square in Salt Lake! I guess they were on vacation and come back this weekend. We will see how that goes!

I loved this simple statement of truth from the last general conference. "God the Father is the Father of our spirits. We are His children. He loves us, and all that He does is for our eternal benefit. He is the author of the plan of salvation, and it is by His power that His plan achieves its purposes for the ultimate glory of His children." I know He cares about us and is working hard for us to be able to have joy forever!

Soeur Giles


August/September Zone Conference





































Letter to Mom:
Wow that all sounds awesome!! You got lots of things done. I'm excited to see the house in a year, it'll be so different! I am SO excited for an avocado tree!!! And truf, that will make playing games in the backyard easier.
Tell hi to Brenda and the other lady as well. They are so nice!
How is Summer?
My week was good! We spent some time looking through my ancestors with the genealogy specialist in our ward. Her name is Noelle and she is awesome. She actually as some ancestors named Lucas as well! They are from luxembourg. The Lucas line on my tree only goes back to people still in the United States. I wonder how we could try to past that. Maybe we are related! haha
Another night we went to a young couple's apartment for dinner and it was so fun!! They both served missions and it was so fun hearing their stories. Also the wife was cutting the bread (apparently in the wrong way) so they had a 5 minute argument about how the bread should be cut when we eat it with cheese.
Another night we went to the Clavey family for dinner. His name is Gilles and her's is Ketty. They are both great grandparents only 70 and 60 years old. But Gilles reminds me so much of dad, just goofy all the time, and it makes me laugh! So we had some good moments this week, and good food!
And i am staying in Nancy for another transfer! It is my 5 th here. I'll for sure be gone after the next one :( that'll be 7 months here! I'm glad to stay with Soeur Hunt as well. We are doing well!
It was actually a lot warmer this last week. I haven't worn tights in a few days. But scarfs will be coming out soon don't worry.
Yes I feel very safe! I recognize all the crazies here and they are not mean just crazy haha. It is a very pleasant place to be!
This week I read the book. Our heritage. It is in the missionary library and it was super good. I love reading about the restoration of the church. But also it focuses not so much on joseph smith but on the fact that we do have continued revelation. We have a prophet today who is actually being directed by the Lord in what to say. How awesome it is that we get to hear from them this weekend! I'll watch the relief society one on sunday and then the 1st session also on sunday but other than that I think we have to find time in our schedule to watch them because of how big the time difference is. One thing I tried to do these past few weeks was to focus on the ones that where just given in April and use that alot during lessons because it is revelation that was meant for this time right now. And I found a new talk that I didn't remember super well each time I went into the gospel library. It was so rich with inspiration, i love it!
It makes me so happy to hear from you!!
Have a wonderful week mom! You are amazing and I am very very grateful for you!
Love,
Sœur Giles

September 18, 2017

This week we were walking around one morning deciding where to go to find and a man walked past us quickly and said "what's up sisters" and continued walking. First of all we need more information than that random man who knows missionaries because we do not see american tourists very often. So we followed him down the street and we saw that his car had broken down and his wife was there too! They are members and have been living in Germany for less than a year and were visiting the big cities around. But something happened and they didn't know how to get there car fixed. So we were able to talk with them a little while and find for them a place to go and get a tow truck. It was cool to be guided by the spirit to that place where we could help them!

Also I learned how french toast came about! Here it is called pain perdu or lost bread. So they would take the bread that is going bad and fry it to make it still edible. 

We got to visit a less active again, which was nice. She needs a lot of support and really enjoys our visits.

Have a wondeful week! 

Sœur Giles











Letter to Mom:

That sounds like a fun Friday party! Clay is lucky!! We have been making quesadillas here and I make a little salsa to go on it. And it's good that you eventually got to that to do list, if I was there we would have it done right away :) that's a lot of changes you have planned! Is dad's work going well?
This week was okay, a little tiring because we walked around a lot and couldn't find anyone but we are still going strong! This week is looking a lot better already.

It is kind of a stereotypical thing to say but I have really come to love the cheese here. Seriously it is like ice cream. People eat it with every meal and it just tastes so good. The longer I am here the more I love to eat it. It grows on you! At first you think it is nothing special but then you just want more!

I'll just say the few big things in the other email, love you tons. Thanks for all your support, 

I also pray for you every day!

Love,
Sœur Giles

Letter to Clay:

Clay you spelled banana correctly haha thank you for your email. You are indeed my favorite little brother :) and you will probably grow up to have my same excellent grammar skills because I also had mr Locken for language arts and he taught me grammar. We will see!! I sent you a letter today so you should get it next week!
It is COLD here. I need that nice blue blanket that you sleep with up here with me. I wear lots of sweaters at night. And lots of fuzzy socks.
My companion is super fun and very helpful. Even though she is new she is doing great!
Right now we have a few investigators named Joseph, Chloé, Irène, Alexandra, Nono and Sylvia. They are making progress slowly but surely.
How is your football season going? I heard you ran the ball, go you!!
Have a wonderful week Clay.
Love love love you!!
You're favorite Sœur, Hannah

September 11, 2017

Good times in Nancy!

Here are a few highlights of the week:

We actually got let in while knocking doors!! First time ever!! Well we hardly ever actually knock on the door, its more like press the little bell and wait for them to stick their head out the window. But we were at this little apartment building and we pressed the bottom name, she couldn't quite understand through the speaker so she opened up the window and peered down at us. We tried again to explain who we were and then she said "oh you speak English I suppose? Why don't you come up and we can talk." So we walked up and met Margaret! She grew up in Germany and while there her mom owned an apartment building and that is where the missionaries lived! So she has known Mormons her whole life. She has lived all over the world and speaks German, English, and French. She moved to Nancy because of her husband's work and has lived here ever since. Now she lives alone, but living a good life. She used to go to the English class taught by the missionaries and really enjoyed it. It was perfect because we will be starting one soon! She also invited us back on Mondays because she gets together with other old people and they speak English together. It was a neat experience.

This weekend was stake conference and it was nice to see so many members come together, the whole chapel and gym was filled with people! The best part was the baptism after. An ami from Luxembourg wanted to get baptized on his wife's birthday (Also Nancy has a font which worked out nicely) which was yesterday! Our ami Irène was able to watch as well! She has been coming to church for months but has trouble understanding basics. It was a great opportunity for her to see what the covenant is and how happy the new member was after he was baptized (even though the water was freezing because the hot water didn't work). She told me she really liked!

President Sorenson assigned each of the zones a way of finding to become masters at! Our zone is genealogy work which is perfect because our family history specialist is amazing and loves it so much. Her name is Noelle and we met with her on Friday to just go through family search and talk about how to use with our amis. It was so fun! Also she brought us a lot of patisserie which were delicious. We have been trying to talk about it as much as possible to people that we meet but I'd love to hear about how you have used genealogy and what blessings you have seen or experiences that you have lived. 

Also at the end of this month our ami Joseph will be moving to the south of France to find work. Which is super sad because he is loving all that we are talking about and he is just such a cool guy! But he asked if there are missionaries down there a few times already so we have high hopes! 

Have a wonderful week!

Sœur Giles




Letter to Mom and Dad:


Bravo dad bravo!! Very impressive, I actually really enjoyed it haha good job!
Can't believe baby Cassidy is all grown up! I remember watching the car drive away when summer left for college. 

All is going well here. I've really been thinking about how to work with the members. We have a really cool family here, Eynora and Alexandra. They are both in their twenties and served missions and really supportive. But I talked to Eynora yesterday and she noticed that of all the converts that have been baptized in the last 2 years, only one comes consistenly every week and is very reliable. He is actually the young mens president and he was baptized less than a year ago! His daughter is one of our amis as well. But we were talking about that and how frustrated she is because she has put a lot of work and effort into this people and not very many of them stay. We're trying to figure out why.
But I have really been feeling that the key to growing the ward here is members talking to their friends. I realized our members are mostly all related. There are ties in almost every family. That's really the only way the ward has stayed together! So now we have to build the connection between the members and missionaries not so that they just hand us all their friends but so that they feel comfortable sharing their testimonies with others and do the work themselves. So as members what advice do you have? What would you like the missionaries to do so to help you share the gospel? How's our family mission plan going? :)

My testimony and understanding of the gospel has really grown while being out here mostly because I study and apply the teachings to others lives then I am also able to apply it in my own as well.
We had a fun experience this week. We were walking on a street in the old part of town and there were big numbers on the ground so Soeur hunt was looking at them. An older guy in front of us makes the sign of cutting his throat and tell us thats where it happened while pointing at the ground. We were super confused but we stayed and talked with him and his family and they told us about during the war in Nancy a famous guy was killed so thats why there were numbers on the ground. Then we started talking about how we are from the US ad they are actually going to new York next summer! They are super excited. So here are the pictures from that. In the middle is the mark of Lorraine (the region that we are in) and now I see the mark everywhere and I never noticed it before!
Thanks for your emails, tell clay hello! You are a wonderful family, I am very blessed!

Love, Sœur Giles

Sept 4, 2017

Has it been 6 months or 6 days?

Another good one! We have found a nice neighborhood to knock doors and went there a few times this week. It was very fun to just walk around and enjoy the summer evenings even if we got told that everyone in the Lorraine region is Catholic and staying that why. They were super surprised to know we have a ward here.

 
Yesterday all the university students came back!! The city was so lively, good things are coming in the next few months. 

We also had zone conference this last week. 2 bishopric members and 1 stake high councilman from the Nancy stake came and observed us while practice teaching and gave us insights into working with the members. One thing that I really liked was that we need to become the message if we want these members to feel of our love and help them share the gospel with their friends. It is more than what we say, what makes a difference is who we are. 

Our ami Joseph came to church yesterday for the first time! He really liked it. The ward was very welcoming and even Joseph was going up to the people he had met before and saying hello. He volunteered to read in amis class and was not timid at all, it was awesome to watch!
We had a rendezvous with a less active and her less active friend was there! We met THE Marie Claude. Marie Claude is just another less active who is friends with the less active in our ward. Not anyone actual special but till now she has been a mystery because Marie Therese talks about her all the time but we finally met her!I had only heard stories about her for the whole time I've been here but we finally met and she was surprisingly normal and very nice. 

I really like this verse in 3rd Nephi "Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world." Though this was when Christ appeared in the Americas, it could also apply today. We don't have to blindly believe anything. Christ invites us to have spiritual experiences for ourselves, to be personally healed through Him.

Bonne semaine!
Sœur Giles














Letter to Mom and Dad:


I think the fallen tree is pay back for all the times we threw things over the wall. But weird and interesting that it just fell without an external force! Good thing no one was outside! Also I heard there is a hurricane or something in Texas and that there is lots of flooding! Are the Jacobson's okay? And Todd and Shelly live there too right? And Maria and what's his name! Oh i just remembered its John. Oh and we can't forget about Chip and Joanna?!? I wear my magnolia farms shirt a lot.

I'm glad Mackenzie had a good time in florida and that the baby is doing well.
That is so hot!! The summer here was not bad. It is already starting to be really chilly in the mornings. Fall is coming quick. It will be a long and cold winter. Sometimes its hard to tell myself to get up because it is dark outside now and it hasn't been the whole time I've been here and I don't realize it is 6:30! But the alarm is loud enough. In all my dreams I am a missionary but normally the setting is at home or somewhere else so everything is super weird! Then random people start speaking French or signs are in French, hahaha!

As a companionship we started the challenge that Elder Nelson gave us to go through all the sections of the topical guide on Jesus Christ and read and mark them. Well we are doing it just for the Book of Mormon right now. And it was interesting knowing that Nephi knew what Jesus's name would be 600 years before his birth! Also it is cool seeing about how many witnesses there are on each subject. There are a lot of verses that mention he created the earth.

So President Sorenson wants us to make the mission song more reverent so I learned the song in a few days to play it for zone conference and it turned out very nicely, well as nice as it could be. Normally it is sung pretty fast but with the piano it has to be slower. 

The flowers and the garden pictures are very pretty! Crazy Cassidy is going to college. Seems like just yesterday it was me and Jake. You dropped us off at Helaman halls in the good ol green machine. She will have a great time! 

Sœur Hunt's French is progressing. It takes a lot of work to speak but the comprehension is coming. We are going to split up the lessons more evenly now so she will practice more and more. 

Tell Clay good job for running the ball! He is a stud.
That's about it for this week. Have a wonderful one!

Love, Sœur Giles