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| FHE with the McKenzies |
Après Moi la Déluge
Indeed a flood. Not one of rain, though it did rain, but a
flood of blessings. The drought of finding has been broken and God has poured the
miracles and blessings upon us this past week. To give you an idea, last
transfer our total stats for "other lessons taught" was a meager 12,
new Amis was 1. The entire 6 weeks. This week alone we taught 5 other lessons,
and 3 new amies. The pleas for help and direction were answered and He placed
us in the right place and the right time. I wrote about it in my journal and
simply couldn't type it all again, thus the photos. I apologize if my
handwriting is difficult to read, I know it's a bit tricky.
The journal entry was just of Tuesday and Wednesday, but the
miracles continued. Thursday we visited two less active sisters with Soeur Meurisse.
It was a pleasure to serve, teach, and share with them. We finished the night
at Soeur Bouhktouchen's. We ate Tajine, a Moroccan chicken and vegetable dish.
They are Algerian/Moroccan. It was delish. Oh man. Spices of the Middle East
and Africa are magical. It was a good lesson; we shared our message of Noël.
They come from a Muslim background, so it was cool to learn of their love of
Christ and Christmas as they have converted to Christianity.
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| 1st class to Paris |
Friday. The blessed day. Paris. ❤️ I went back to Paris. We had our Christmas tri-zone
Conference in Versailles. When our TGV was pulling into Gare du Nord, I nearly
cried. Also, they messed up the composition of the train, so we got to ride
First Class to Paris. It was a beautiful feeling being back in that beautiful
city. I lead the group of missionaries gathered to where we needed to go, as i
knew it almost like the back of my hand. Oh I can't even explain to you how happy
I was to get shoved onto the cram packed RER. It was bliss. We made it to
Versailles without a problem and the conference was wonderful. Testimonies of
missionaries who finish their mission this transfer, all of whom I know and
love, spiritual thoughts, testimonies, songs, musical numbers, a presentation
of the temple, 15 minutes "with our family" reading the letters
president had from our families, then a fabulous turkey and mashed potato meal.
Président said we could sit by whomever we wanted and eat as much as we wanted.
It was SO nice. Soeur Soileau doesn't really know anyone yet, so she sat with
my missionary friends and I. After all, she is a friend of mine. Haha we
talked, laughed, reminisced of old times and updated each other on
investigators or converts, etc. it was lovely. They passed out packages from
our families too, as if Santa had stopped by. I love President. We took a giant
group photo, which took a bit longer that it should have.
Imagine a mass herd of nicely dressed men and women running
with boxes in one hand and copies of the Book of Mormon in the other running frantically
through 6 levels of a Paris train station. Nearly every single missionary
missed their train. Everyone had to wait inline and exchange tickets and wait
for the next train. Good times. It took all night to get home, so we ate
dinner, planned, and went to bed.
Saturday was contacting, visited Soeur Bond at the marché
for a sec to cheer her up and buy some lemon curd from her, then weekly
planning, contacting, and spent a family home evening with the McKenzie family.
We shared our Christmas message and helped decorate the tree and the apartment.
It was lovely.
Sunday was full of some unexpected miracles. Church was
good. It's a bit frustrating because everyone talks over each other and has to
add their 2 cents, but they are still wonderful and I love them. Just a test of
patience at times. The Elder's ami Franck came! The YSA just swooped him up and
made him feel at home. We keep praying someone of ours will come. Bientot.
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| Missionary Mana |
we made lunch for the two of us and Mana, who is leaving on
her mission at the end of this month. We prayed to know what to do, then off we
went to find an old amie. We got to the gated fence and rung the bells. One
neighbor answered but told us to go away. Then a super old lady opened her
door, told me to kick the gate door to open it and come in. So we did. She just
told us to come in and talk to her. She was 90 years old and all alone. She
said she hadn't talked to anyone in years. It was so sad. We tried to share a
message, but she didn't listen and kept talking over us. She also was a bit
deaf. But we prayed with her, wished her a merry Christmas and went next door
to the lady we were looking for. She wasn't home. So we wrote a little note to
leave behind, and just as we were setting it down, a lady walked up and voila.
It was her. She invited us in, and just sitting placed perfectly on a coffee
table, was the Book of Mormon. On her buffet cabinet, the restoration and plan
of salvation brochures used as pictures. She had been waiting for missionaries
for more than a year to pass by. It was incredible. She said she had been
praying for a long time to be found.
She spoke a lot, super fast, and a regional dialect of
French with an accent we don't know. It was so nice to have Mana with us. She basically
taught everything, because even I was struggling to follow everything Madame
Petit said. She expressed her reliance and love for the Lord, Jesus Christ. She
talked of the terrible things of the world but that it doesn't mean there isn't
a God, but that men are the corrupt and bad ones who have deformed the world. A
very sweet lady with a desire to do good. Absolutely a miracle.
It's been a good week. A bit odd at times, but with so many
blessings. The Jandas brought us food for Christmas, I got my boots which were completely
worn out and the heel is gone from walking in them for more than a year are
getting fixed at the cobblers, my train pass was renewed, we got to decorate
our apartment, so many little things worked out. I know that God answers
prayers. Often times, we have to persevere and keep going, pushing further and
harder and better, but he always answers. His plan is always better than ours.
I wish you a fabulous week. Be good Do more Look outward
Love,
Sœur Kate Simpson
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