June 18, 2018

So the craziest day of the week was Wednesday!! A member had asked us to do some service at her house, we painted the ceiling white. She lives about an hour and a half from Nantes so we took a train and it took most of our day. It started out great even though I've never painted a ceiling before. The first roll of paint roller, a big glob dropped right on my eye haha so after we wiped that off, it was really fun! We took a break for lunch and started again. Then we hear our phone vibrating and it is another member that we have been working with a lot. I answer and she is practically crying, she was at the coast visiting her son, situation is complicated, but the woman who took her to visit him, left her! Also complicated story haha but it was the hugest miracle that she called us because the member was able to go pick her up and she came back on the train with us. What is funny is that there was no reason for her to call us, she knows that we don't have a car and wouldn't have been able to help her. 

Another interesting thing, the day before we went to the church to print out our train tickets and there was a virus!! So it took us 3 hours to actually print the tickets, we almost gave up and thought to reschedule the service but it finally worked. The member was so amazed and couldn't stop saying how much of a miracle it was! So after we got back to the city we went and bought a little journal with her so she could write all the blessings that she has received from Heavenly Father in it :)


On Saturday we were also able to help a member move and it was a great opportunity to strengthen the trust between us and the members. Then we went ice skating with the young woman in the ward and were finally able to talk with the young woman president about how to help the 14yr old recent convert!


We had some really really cool contacts this week! We met a lady on the bus who had been looking for a church in the area, the bus stopped suddenly and a huge Polynesian looking guy almost squished soeur Morrison but didn't. He was super nice and interested in learning more.


We also spent some time calling old investigators and one called us back and said he would love to take the lessons again. He had actually lost his wife a few weeks ago and said it was a sign! So we went to visit him the day after with a member and it was so so good. We had planned to teach the plan of salvation but ended up teaching the restoration anyways. He is very excited to read the book of Mormon.


Another old investigator that we called was taught by my mtc teacher! We will be seeing him on Wednesday. He was so nice and has all kinds of questions!


To finish off the week we taught relief society! It was on the meekness talk from elder bednar, kinda ironic haha 2 young American girls teaching older french women but it turned out really really well!! We separated them into groups and they each had a scripture or story from the talk and then we discussed 3 questions. What is meekness? How do we acquire this attribute? And how does being meek bless others? There was a lot of good discussion and they understood us haha


Our investigator Loveth came to church!! She's the one who can't read yet but is progressing really well. 

Congrats to Jason and Julie! Looks like it was a fun wedding! And Happy Fathers day Dad! Sounded like it was a fun week of celebrating. Congrats clay for your promotion!! 

No unidentified flying baguettes but lots and lots of rain, it is quite the adventure !
Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sœur Giles

June 11, 2018

I cant ever think of a cool subject line...

Hello! This week was a good one. Sorry to hear you were sick mom! Hope you recover soon. And happy birthday dad!!! Hope you have a great day and a good bike ride to celebrate. 52 years isn't old yet!

When does the tour de France start ? 

We had some good lessons this week, one with Julie. She still wants to be baptized but hasn't quite figured out why she needs to follow the commandments. We also met with the Olivier family. The mom committed to be baptized in July!! The dad isn't really interested yet. But we were able to talk for a while with the mom and help her understand what she needs to do to grow her faith. 

Both the elders here were transferred, well one finished his mission so he is home now so two new elders came in! We met them at the train station to help them with their bags and show them how to get to their apartment. One of them came right from the mtc! Now soeur Morrison isn't the youngest :) she's happy about that haha

There has been a thunder and lighting storm every single day this week! Usually it is clear in the morning but around 3 in the afternoon it just pores. One day we got caught in it and were completely soaked. Squishy shoes are not very fun haha so we were on our way back to the apartment when we met Christelle or Kristenne, we don't remember which one it is...but she asked us about our plaques and easily accepted a book of Mormon, even though it was a little water damaged. She wants to stop by the church sometime but didn't want to give us her number. She was really happy to have met us and thought it was not a coincidence.

After changing we went right back into town to meet with Loveth! She came from Nigeria a little while ago and doesn't know how to read so we have been helping her with that. She just got a bus pass and is super excited to come see the church! It is hard to give her commitments or help her progress as much because she can't read. But I've been reading daughters in my kingdom, the book for the relief society at night in french and it tells a story about when the relief society in the 1990's helped many woman to read. And one of them testified of the joy she felt of actually being able to read the words that the Savior spoke. It was cool to read about other people that have done the same thing! Do you have any tips on how to help her ? I don't think we have ever taught anyone to read before...we just taught the alphabet and sound everything out.

Last week we were calling some former investigators and soeur Morrison called a guy and he couldn't quite understand so he asked if English would be better and she said yes but then could not think of a single thing to say! So she says uh..we're new here....and um...we found your number in our....uh....phone and yeah I think you met our............ then there was long silence and he is like what haha but we got it all sorted out and he will be in Nantes in a few weeks and we will call him again. So anytime something awkward happens we say to each other uh..we're new here..

I am really grateful for the light that the gospel brings into our lives. We see over and over again how much hope and happiness can be found in this life and a peace about the world to come because of Jesus Christ. Being on a mission has helped me see how much potential we have as children of Heavenly Father and how much we can help each other when we work a little harder, stretch a little further and go out of our own little bubble to help those around us. Real change comes from turning outwards. Thanks for your emails! Have a fun, busy week! 

Love,
Sœur Giles

Sorry the only picture we took this week was when we were walking with an investigator to their apartment and I pointed out that her daughter only had one shoe on so our investigator took off running to go get it and left us with the baby...oops!

June 4, 2018

This week was a good one!

We were able to see that family member referral we taught last week. We showed them the cool plan of salvation presentation and they LOVED it. It was awesome. We asked the 12 year old how he felt afterwards and he said very very very very very good. He felt "warm but in an emotional way". This family is so cool! They also really liked the "because of him" video. 

Besides that we just felt really guided by the spirit without even knowing it! Julie didn't come to church and we hadn't heard from her for a few days. We were a little worried! But we decided to go out in the morning, which we don't do very often because it is nice to get some companion study before going out. But we went outside and realized we hadn't checked the bus times. So we take a minute to check on the app and it had said it had passed a minute ago. That's Okay we could walk to take the tram, we walk closer to the bus stop and see it pass right then!! So we go to the tram and miss that one by a minute too. So we wait for the next one, we get on the tram and guess who is sitting right there!!!! Julie!!! So we got to talk for a little while and we are seeing her tonight. Should be good.

After that we decided to do a little contacting and then pass by less actives. So we go to a different stop and run into a member! She gave us that member family referral. She was like hey i have another friend for you! Are you free today? Yes we are haha so we go and see her friend together and it was good! She is from Brazil/Portugal and doesn't speak a lot of French. She really liked the Book of Mormon and said she needs this in her life. We should see her this week again! 

We haven't seen the fireside for the youth but we watched the celebration for the priesthood yesterday after church and that was cool!! I bet mom wants our family to sing like that one haha it was so cool! Actually the way they said their family name sounds like the way happiness is said in french, the members liked that.

We also met a family from the Philippines and soeur Morrison got to speak a little bit of Tagalog, it was awesome!!

We also went to see an investigator in the hospital but the room number we had wasn't correct and she didn't answer her phone...oops! 

This week I really liked this verse from dear to the heart of the shepherd
"Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,
Dear are the “ninety and nine”;
Dear are the sheep that have wandered
Out in the desert to pine.
Hark! he is earnestly calling,
Tenderly pleading today:
“Will you not seek for my lost ones,
Off from my shelter astray?”
Out in the desert they wander,
Hungry and helpless and cold;
Off to the rescue he hastens,
Bringing them back to the fold."

Thank you for your emails!!

Love,

Soeur Giles

May 29, 2018

So yeah this week we didn't have hot water and the gas stove didn't work for a few days but now it's all fixed! The cold shower made me wonder how we ever swam in the ocean when it was freezing!! Other than that everything is going well. It poured so hard last evening and soeur Morrison looked at me and so wanted to go out and run around a little bit. So we did! 

No I didn't have Mr. Spiker in middle school. I had Mr. Robbins for 2 years instead. But I've heard about him!

This week we went to see a couple in the ward and it was so cool hearing about all their experiences. One of the husband's ancestors was in the revolutionary war and the wife remembers leaving Versailles as a little girl because of world war two. Soeur Morrison really loved hearing about all the history! They also shared some experiences that they had in the temple. The wife remembers doing the ordinances for one woman who was an orphan, or a child that was found on the street. She felt a really strong connection to her and started researching things about her then went to the hall of records. All that they had about her was a torn piece of paper which said that when the little girl was found all she had was a stuffed rabbit and 3 little handkerchiefs. It was really sad but sister fortineau said she felt at peace knowing that the temple work was performed. 

We went to Rennes again for a stake relief society activity. They had a few workshops to go to and it was great seeing Sophie, a recent convert interact with more woman. She really really loved it!! Plus the dessert that they had was really good. 

Recently we have been trying to help a member share the gospel with her friends. She really wants to! She tried talking to one friend but that didn't work out . Sunday afternoon the member calls us and wonders if we are free that afternoon, we are and we go to see a family that she is friends with. The mom is from Peru but that dad is french. They have two kids, 12 and 8. The mom actually remembers seeing missionaries knock on her grandma's door in Peru and wanted to let them in but her grandma didn't want to. She has been missing this spiritual part in her life and really wants to come to church where her children feel comfortable as well. It was so good to testify of the truths that we know about Jesus Christ and the plan of happiness that Heavenly Father has for us, she was tearing up! We see them again on Thursday. Afterwards the member was so humble and said she was just an instrument in God's hand to help spread his gospel. 

Last night we went to see the family Giraud!! The family that we passed by the other week and then they called us asking us to come over and teach their son. And it was so awesome!! The son is so smart and really wants to learn everything. He loved the Book of Mormon that we gave him and said a really sweet prayer. The mom really wants to change jobs so they have more time to put into coming to church and participating.

This week we saw many times how much just a little bit of faith in action brings about miracles. They were many times when we had studied and prepared something which was exactly what was needed and the Spirit was able to testify of truths . I love this gospel!

Love,
Sœur Giles




Few highlights of the week:
Went to le jardin des plantes and held baby goats!
An investigator took us to a little village that has a castle and then to visit a friend whose is in a rest home.
Brought flowers to an older member who lives all by herself.
We had an awesome lesson with Julie about faith!
And we taught a new family the restoration. While we were talking the 12 year old asked us if God answers us if we pray to him in our thoughts. We said yes and he said that that has happened to him already! It's incredible how much Heavenly Father loves us and wants to help us!

Have a great week!
Soeur Giles

May 21, 2018

This week was super good! 

We had an awesome miracle on Friday! It all started in the morning when soeur Morrison's skirt broke after she had put it on. The zipper got all stuck and she couldn't get out of it for almost an hour. So she changed outfits and decided to put on tights. She thought it was going to be chilly. Then we started to plan and decided to go visit a less active family. Except they live super far away, about 20 km and the buses that go there are not frequent. We decided to go in the afternoon. So we went and it's a tiny tiny town, super cute! We started walking to the house and after about 15 minutes I look at the map and we had been walking down a road parallel to the one we were supposed to be walking on. That added about 10 minutes to our walk. Finally we get to the house and a neighbor is out side and says that they aren't home yet but we ring the door bell anyways. He was right! But it was super hot outside and soeur Morrison really wanted to take off her tights, she was going to do it right there but I saw a brown fence for trash cans right across the street so we went there quickly. Right as she finished we heard little voices and we are pretty sure it's the family!! We try to look without being creepy but couldn't really tell. Then we walked around for 5 minutes then went back. We were right and they answer! We had no idea who they were so we assumed the woman who answered the door was the mom, wrong! It was their nanny so we left a note with our phone number for the parents. Then we go on our way. Of course we buy a patisserie in town and some really good bread with olives in it. We get back home and at about 8 the mom calls! She was so surprised that we went all the way out there to talk to them and she said her 9 year old son has expressed the desire to be baptized after he went to his best friends baptism last year. So she invited us over for family home evening next next week to start teaching the boy!! It was so cool!! 

Other than that we had an awesome lesson with Vanessa! We met her on the tram a few weeks ago and finally met with her. It was probably the sweetest lesson I've ever had! All she wants is healing in her life and happiness in her family! 

Julie is progressing well. Even though she said she didn't want to live the word of wisdom she cut down smoking and pretty much eliminated caffeine after our lesson last week. She rolled her ankle and wasn't able to make it to church but we met with her yesterday afternoon and talked about all the good things she has in her life now, she teared up! It was so sweet. And we took cute pictures with our copies of the book of Mormon :)

The gospel is so good!

Love,
Sœur Giles

May 14, 2018

It was awesome talking to you yesterday too!! You are great examples to me.
The rest of the week went really well. There were some days that we were outside the whole day, so busy going to lessons or meetings. It was so great!! 

We had a really cool experience as well. There is a member of about 10 years who came from Peru 3 years ago to live in France. She has been struggling the past little while and feels pretty lonely. One morning she texted us and asked what we were doing that day, she wanted to have a picnic haha but that afternoon we had scheduled to meet with a recent convert to talk about the temple and continue with her genealogy. In addition another member called us and asked if we needed her help that day. So we invited the member from Peru and the other one to our lesson with the recent convert. Fast forward to 16th and everyone is there except the recent convert. We called and it turns out there were no buses that day! But we were able to talk to the other 2 members about the temple and the one from Peru cried when she realized the blessings that her family could have. She said that that is what she wants in her life! And the member there was just perfect for her. They talked about her future and how she can accomplish what she wants in her life. It was so awesome that it didn't go at all as planned but was exactly what needed to happen!!

Later in the week we did end up going to see the recent convert and talk about the temple. We are trying to get them all to the temple within 3 months of their baptism but we are about a 3 hour drive from the temple and the ward has never really planned a temple trip before. It's been a little bit challenging! We have the best ward missionary ever though, the mom of my piano teacher from byu! She served a mission when she was younger and she is just willing to take charge and get things moving. She helps our ward mission leader who is in his 20s figure how to be effective as well. It's great!

Missionary life is a good life! Sometimes it does feel like a burden, people depend on us for eternal salvation!! But there is nothing better than seeing a person take a bite of the sweet sweet fruit of the gospel, and just love it!

Have a wonderful week :)
Love,
Sœur Giles

May 7, 2018

This week we went to Paris again! The day Sister Morrison came in was a little weird so she didn't get to go to the mission home for dinner and to the temole the next day, so we did that this week! We left Tuesday afternoon and arrived in Paris with just enough time to stroll past Notre dame. Then we went to the mission home and had a really delicious dinner of lasagna and crêpes by a real french chef! Then we slept at a hotel in saint German en laye!! And it was the nicest bed and pillow that I've had in a long long time. It was great! The breakfast was so nice as well, baguette and cheese and salami. Pain au chocolate and some Madeleines. 

 Then we had a conference in Versailles with all the other trainers and new missionaries about rules and welcome to the mission. Walked to the temple and had a little presentation by the temple director about using the temple and it was really nice! It felt so funny to be back where I used to serve. The metros still smell the same and the people who play instruments are still there. Well it's only been a few weeks so basically nothing has changed haha we didn't get home till late on Wednesday. 

The rest of the days we spent searching for less actives and part member families and talking to people on the way there and back. It was actually super awesome!! We talked to a lot of cool people. One of the them is Papis, we talked to him on the tram. He noticed our plaques and asked where the church is. He had to get off in 2 stops so we quickly explained the book of Mormon, gave him one and are seeing him tonight! 

Another old investigator we called, she wanted a book of Mormon right then! So we hurried out of the apartment and walked down the street where she lives and gave it to her. We will pass by later this week to see how her reading is going.

Another miracle, a less active member came to church on Sunday with her nonmember son. They just decided that they needed to come back, they have had some hard times recently and felt a need to come back. It was stake conference and it was perfect! The stake president spoke about president Nelson's talk about revelation and it was so powerful. All the ward members were so welcoming and the mom invited us to come over this week! 

Everything is going really well over here! We are loving It!
Love,
Sœur Giles

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Every day it gets warmer and warmer and it's awesome!
One of the best moments was a member named Emmanuel. He just moved to France from Nigeria and found a card for the missionaires in Paris. So he calls them and then the missionaries there give us his number. So we call him and he is so so so happy to talk to us. We met with him on Saturday to show him where the church is. While we were on the bus he said that he has been praying so hard to find the church. Then he starts singing the chorus of I am a child of God and said that God has been leading him. Turns out he really really likes singing and then started to sing how gentle God's commands in the bus as well. It was awesome.

We also were able to see a member that is hopefully going to visit the Paris temple for the first time this weekend! She is so excited! We went to the park right next to her house and saw some really pretty flowers.

 
We also went to Paris again, it was a great day!
Sœur Giles