Rouen & Runny Noses - 25 mai 2015

Happy day to all!

Bonjou, nous somb
les soeu bissionnaires
#sickmuch

It was a lovely week, though we were sick for most of it, it was still delightful and full of miracles. Soeur Tupai and I both got sick around Monday night, Tuesday morning, we think due to getting caught in a cold rain storm unexpectedly and the change of the weather going back to winter for a bit. But, the work continued and we made the best of it! We had exchanges with the Soeurs of Rouen and Versailles 2, both of which were 

Pretty sure this is
why we got sick this week

wonderful.

Rouen is incredible. Catholic churches and the most intricate Cathedral I've seen yet. And the best part, the people are way more open and kind. AND another best part, I was on exchanges with Soeur Sarah Facer! We've gone to school together since 2nd grade! I loved getting to really know her better and serve the Lord together. It was wonderful. We had a pretty cool 8:45pm miracle: We were at the end of the day, just contacting about in the centre-ville after a rendez-vous. There was hardly anyone on the streets, and the only ones were men... so we stopped, said a prayer and had the faith that He would help us have just one more person to talk to. Just after the prayer, a man walked around the corner. I said to Soeur Facer, "that would've been so cool if the first person was a lady." but then as I said that, a lady turned the corner right in front of us. Voila. It wasn't the first, but the second person we saw. 

Soeur Sarah Facer et moi

Rouen

Pretty fast reply. ;) She turned out to be a new investigator for the Soeurs in Rouen after having a quick lesson and prayer on the street and setting a time for a rendez-vous. It was awesome.

The next day, we took the train back to Paris where the soeurs of Versailles 2 met us at the station and thus began our second exchange of the week. I was with Soeur Richards, 

Soeur Richards et moi

Paris

who has 2 weeks left on the mission. We went strait to a lesson, that actually got confused with times, but it ended up working out for the best. The member's daughter is less active and she was there, participated, and even prayed to end the lesson and began to cry. The Spirit was strong and she promised us that she would come to church Sunday. Best part: she actually came!

Well, we had a lovely exchange, it was way too short. We had a 8:45pm miracle as well! We found a new amie and it's here in our own secteur! Yay! We were surprised that she actually said yes to letting us keep talking and to pray with her. That doesn't happen very often, so we kind of weren't expecting it. There's a good lesson to be learned. Expect the miracles. We have a rendez-vous with her this week!

So being sick was not the greatest, but I think it was needed to stop Soeur Tupai for a sec and breathe. We've been going and going and going and just wearing ourselves out, which is awesome and I love it and what we should do, but our bodies are falling apart, especially Soeur Tupai. She's got 2 weeks left on her mission, just gotta make it 2 more weeks! She is solid. Such an awesome missionary and awesome person. I feel so lucky to serve with her. I have learned so much by her example and determination. Oh dear, I just love her. :)

We both don't really have voices left, and so we've been whispering every time we aren't contacting or teaching. So we did weekly planning in whispering, we've been whishper-praying, and it's been quite the reverent week! haha If you need some peace and reverence in your life, get sick and whisper! haha

Things really are going so well. This transfer has flown by. I can't believe it's already week 5! ah! It's going to been another crazy busy week, but I can't wait! Always an adventure! I pray and hope you are doing well, you're healthy, and you are finding the wonderful joy in life that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. He lives. He loves us. How blessed are we!?

Have a splendid week and enjoy that last days of May! 

Love, 

Soeur Kate Simpson

Careparavelle much? 

#Narniaisfrance

Rouen

Once again, Rouen is amazing.

Beautiful buildings

Rouen 

Joanne d'Arc burning 

at the stake memorial site... 

Rouen

Cathédral de Rouen

The view from the apartment. 

Absolutely breathtaking. 

Rouen

Selfies at the 

Center (of visitors) 

E. Madsen, Prisen, Priscilla, 

Sr. Simpson, Sr. Richards, 

Pamela, E. Martin

Elder Madsen eating 

the Chinese fungi...

Also, unintentional 

advertising for Coca-Cola 

and the Young Women program. 

District Meeting

St. Merri, Paris

Thanks, mom, for the SNACK ATTACK!

Interviews, ZC, Versailles, Nancy - 18 mai 2015

Bonjour tout le monde,

I hope you are doing well. It was a wonderfully busy week. Interviews with President and Soeur Babin were absolutely splendid. Such inpsired people. Zone Conference on wednesday went well! Our training wasn't too bad, so all is well! It was a great conference. I love these missionaries. Good kids, everyone of them. :) Right after ZC I headed out to Versailles with Soeur Bell! Versailles is beautiful. wow. I haven't seen so much greenery since I was in America. Living in Paris for so long, even Nogent a suburb of Paris, it's buildings everywhere. Oh it was a lovely change of scenery. We taught their ami who is committed to be baptized, Monica from Portugal. The lesson was in English, which was actually somewhat of a challenge for me, a good sign, right! Sr. Bell is wonderful and we had some amazing discussions during our times contacting the few people out. It was too short of an exchange, but every minute was not wasted! 

Soeur Van Den Berghe and I

enjoying our delightful Kebabs. 

For real, America needs Kebabs. 

Nancy

Then almost strait to Nancy, except Sr. Tupai left her Carte Jeune, which is an ID to prove we are student age and get the discounted price for train tickets... so we missed our train, had to go back home, traded our tickets, and got on the next train to Nancy. It's a TGV train, so it's a high speed train that goes all over France. It only took 75 minutes to get all the way to Nancy, which is nearly Germany!

I was with Soeur Van Den Berghe, a soeur that was in the MTC with me. It was also a wonderful exchange. AND we had another Japanese miracle! It was 8:40pm, raining, and we didn't have an umbrella, slightly soaked, but we decided to pray and keep contacting until it was time. Sr. VDB stopped this young lady with head phones in who was looking down at the ground. We ended up having a wonderful discussion about God, Jesus Christ, and the Restoration, all of which Chiharu had never heard of before, being Buddhist and Shinto growing up. I told her "I am a child of God" in Japanese, this time all of it, and we ended up planning a time to meet and she became a new investigator! It was a last minutes miracle! 

When we finally got in, we knocked on the door, and two British ladies answered, definitely not who we were looking for. Well, never the matter, they were ever so helpful and so kind. they helped us find the member and even let us pray with them. Bev and Christine from Wales. They were renting the apartment for a weekend in Paris and their husbands had run to the market. How quaint. 

(pic missing)

This is Stephanie. Super cute Chinese recent convert that Soeur Tupai and Soeur Stevens taught back in Nogent. She took us to a Japanese restaurant today for lunch. She is absolutely a joy and is silly as ever. How grateful I am for these people in my life.

Using our "Psych" skills
to get into this building
to visit a less active...
Pretty much pro.

I wish and pray all the best for each and every one of you! How much joy there is in

After getting back to Paris finally,
we didn't go back home
because we wanted
to use all the time
 possible for finding.
We both were nearly dying of thirst,
okay not really, but kind of.
Luckily for us, here in Paris
 there are these lovely water
fountains scattered about!
No worries, we sanitized our hands first.
What a blessing! 

 living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I read President Uchtdorf's talk from a few conferences ago, "Living the Gospel Joyful" and oh how true his words are. I have felt, seen, and learned of so much joy by continuously trying to do my best in following and keeping the commandments and the covenants which I have made. My questions to you today are: What brings you true joy? How do you find joy, even in the hardest of times?

I know that I find true joy in following our Savior, Jesus Christ. I have never been so joyful in my life that I have been serving a mission and sharing the joy I find with those around me. I know that you can find true joy by following, living, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Have such a splendid week! 

Love,   

Soeur Simpson

The Week in Photos - 11 mai 2015

Bonjour tout le monde! It was a wonderful week here in Paris. Lots of new people, adventures of transportation, and exchanges with the soeurs from St. Ouen and Mulhouse! The best part of the week: Sunday. We had almost all of our amies at church and a new amie just showed up because she had two dreams that she needed to come, so she did! AND it was Mother's Day!

So here is the week:

Mascarade! The most beautiful of Pdays in a long time. Soeur Tupai and I just about died of peace and beauty in one of my now favorite buildings in Paris. We were blessed to just happen to be there during a rehearsal of the Ballet of Paris... ya. It was breath-taking and unreal. We just stood there in awe for about 20 minutes. 

Me pretending like I know 

what I'm doing. 

I couldn't help myself. 

Just look at this room! 

Absolutely incredible. 

Palais Garnier aka Opéra de Paris

After a powerful member-present lesson

 with our ami Djelika, 

these signs were placed all over.

 It means "love runs the streets". P

retty cool, I think.  Châtelet

Elevator selfie with Soeur Brandenburg,

 my first exchange! St. Ouen 

We had quite the adventures 

together in St. Ouen. 

She's finally back in her own secteur, 

after being my companion 

for the rest of last transfer. 

It was fun to be comps again for a day! 

She is a wonderful human being 

and a fabulous missionary.

Exchange with Soeur Nolasco, 

serving in Mulhouse! 

Along the Seine

She is probably one of the 

funniest people, just hilarious. 

Her Canadian ways of 

saying "bag" got me every time. 

We had some awesome trajet contacts, 

and a lovely lesson in a parc. 

We had lunch along the bank of the Seine, 

a little surprise for her! 

CHIPS! The ZLs gave us some chips 

because they're nice. and they were left over. 

Getting all prepped for Zone Conference this week! 

Here we go! And yes. Soeur Tupai's chips a

re spaghetti sauce flavored and mine: 

rotisserie chicken. Literally tastes like chicken. 

yay for French Lay's haha 

Well, it was a wonderful week full of miracles and too many stories to even begin to write. But. Know that all is well, the working is growing, and I love serving as a missionary. I feel like my life isn't real, so many blessings from meeting people from all over the world and sharing the gospel with them all. It's the best.

I wish and pray all the best!

Love, 

Soeur Simpson

May 4th be with you - 4 mai 2015Kebabs and Cathedrals!

I know. Original. But hey. Happy Star Wars day. 

Saying Hello to Sœur Tupai! 

Elevator Selfie, 

as one must 

when in an elevator

Paris

Well, life in Paris. It is wonderful. Incredibly tiring and yet absolutely wonderful. I feel quite a bit like a Bleue all over again, but it's good. I've been learning left and right and every way you can think of. I love Sœur Tupai. She is probably the best missionary I have ever met. Oh how I hope I can become more like her. I have learned so much already. 

We basically do trajet contacting 24/7 because we are constantly going back and forth and all over Paris. It's awesome. I have met some incredible people. Also a lot more rude people. But it's all good. It builds character, right? haha I love it. It is exhausting and my back hurts like none other, but it's great to feel like I am being a missionary as I thought I could be.

Oh, super cool moment. We contacted this cute little lady and did so in French, but she told us that she doesn't understand and she's from Japan. Immediately I just spat out the only words I know in Japanese "kami no ko desu watashi wa ana ta..." SHE UNDERSTOOD! All I was able to say was "I am a child of God" in Japanese but that's all she needed. It was a cool moment of preparation from the past, thanks Dad for teaching it to me when I was little! 

Rockin' someone's Nikes...

A soeur's shoe completely 

broke, so I gave her my shoes

 so she could get back to her ville;

 these were my temporary 

kicks for the day. 

Yep. I just about died laughing. 

I looked ridiculous, 

but felt great helping a fellow sœur.

The ward is wonderful. It's hard to know who is actually in the ward and who is just visiting, always tourists and BYU students, but it's great. Church is translated into English and Chinese! We had an amie come, who we visited and taught this week! She is wonderful. :) 

I had an "aha!" moment in personal study yesterday, perhaps it's super simple and self-explanatory, but in the book, Gospel Principles there is a sentence that says, "The Church exists to help families receive eternal life." The whole reason the Church exists is so we can make sacred covenants and receive ordinances to be with our families FOREVER. The family is truly the central unit of the Church. It's the base and the most important. How incredibly blessed are we to have families and to have the Church of Jesus Christ restored on the earth to helpe us return as 

Back to December. 

But really. It was cold 

and rainy this week, 

but the joy of the Gospel 

brought the warmth and sun!

families to our eternal familiy in heaven. I am so grateful for my family and the opportunity we have to be here on earth to make and keep eternal covenants to be together with our Father in Heaven. 

I wish and pray all the best for you! Be good and smile! 

Love, 

Sœur Kate Simpson

A whole lot of missionaries 

on the train. Going to Versailles

 for the iPad training conference

monday, 27 avril 2015

Lovely friends; 

Aren't they adorable missionaries?!

Sr. Hogan, Sr. Brandenburg, 

Sr. Erickson, Sr. Stevens

MTC friends! 

Elder Edmunds and Sr. King

Kebabs and Cathedrals! 

Saying goodbye to Sœur Tane.

Saint-Merri, Paris

Tunisian Patisserie!
Coconut thing... super good
and Gluten Free!

Saying goodbye to Nogent.

Nogent-sur-Marne

"One Day More!" - 28 avril 2015

What. A. Week.

Soeur Tane et moi at our
last district meeting in Nogent
Gournay-sur-Marne

The last district meeting with one of my favorite districts yet. We then did service at the Mourier's house where we held the meeting and had a delish barbeque. I LOVED working in the yard. Yes, mom, I miss working in the yard. It does the body so much good. Good old hard work. Good times.

We spent a lot of the week with members, seeing as Soeur Tane is going home tomorrow and the chances of me leaving were high. It was so good to talk and share with the members of this beloved

The wonderful Leconte Family
I have done service every
Thursday at their house for 5 months.
I LOVE this family.
What incredible Saints

ward. I love them so much, it's truly my 2nd home ward. We ate with the Angulos, Kusselings, Allanics, and Judas.

Saturday we had our missionary musical fireside for our ward and the branch of Aulnay. It seemed a bit like it would be a disaster, French fire sides are not like American firesides. It was on the stage, with colored lights, and spa music with Frere Kusseling and his daughter narrating. BUT it turned out to be really relaxing, filled with the spirit, and all was well. I sang two songs, "Venez voir" and "Joy in the Morning" with the soeurs. Super high range, but we did it and we didn't break any glass. Valerie came, and tons of members brought friends and neighbors. It was a great night.

All fresh and clean!
The newest member of the
Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter day Saints
Valérie.
What a miracle and a blessing.

Sunday, my last Sunday in Nogent, was beautiful. Church was great. and the best part of the day, Valerie entered the waters of baptism and was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. She is amazing, absolutely amazing. Her commitment to completely change her life and everything about it is inspiring. She is determined and diligent, an incredible example to us all. What a beautiful way to finish out the transfer.

Yesterday we had a full-mission conference, with every missionary in the mission gathered together in Versailles for iPad training. Elder Kearon and Elder Neilsen of the Seventy came and gave the training and it was wonderful. The possibilities given to us through technology to communicate and share the gospel is immense and we are just getting

The Soeurs of Nogent with Valerie
just before being baptized
Soeur Simpson, Soeur Tane,
Soeur Brandenburg,
Soeur Waite, Soeur Castillo
Nogent-sur-Marne

started. I am grateful to serve in this time where the Lord is hastening His work through the tools He has given us. We didn't get the iPads due to something going wrong in Germany, but they will be coming shortly. It's going to change the way this mission does missionary work and it's going to be wonderful. The effects of technology + the gospel have already been spreading like crazy and what a glorious time to be alive!

Donna! An amie that has never
come to church and
she just showed up on Sunday!
Super cool!

Serving with Soeur Tane has been such a blessing for me. I have learned and grown more than I thought I could and for that, I am forever grateful. It's weird to imagine her not being in the mission anymore, but I am excited for her to continue her life and live all that she has learned and become. I love her so much. I am also so grateful for Soeur Brandenburg and the opportunity to serve with her, even if it's just been a week and a half. I am just filled with gratitude in my heart

MTC comp: Soeur King!

and pray all the best for them.

Well, this week is transfers, as in tomorrow. I recieved a call from the Assistants on Saturday before the répertoire was sent out, and I have been assigned to serve as a Sister Training Leader (STL) in the secteur: Paris. Holy cannoli. It is quite a bit of a change going from my Bleue-ville to Paris STL, but I am grateful for the opportunity and hope I can give all that I can in helping and serving the sisters of this mission. My new companion is Soeur Tupai, a Tahitian in her 13th transfer, and who is my "grandma"

Trainer: Soeur Stevens

on the mission. She trained Soeur Stevens, so I was basically trained by Soeur Tupai too. I am so excited to serve with her. She is an amazing missionary and an amazing person. I couldn't be happier and more filled with joy, love, and gratitude.

The Lord Jesus lives. He is our brother and He is with us always. I am grateful for all that He has done and all that He does for me, and everyone in my life. I know His gospel is true and it was restored by the prophet Joseph Smith by the priesthood authority

Cacharelle, a recent convert
in our ward
I didn't bring a jacket
and she gave me hers
to borrow; so nice!
We had a lovely mangez-vous
with her last night.

of God. What a blessing and a strength it is to have the gospel in my life.

Thank you for all you do and all you are. Keep doing all the good you do in the world. Every effort is not wasted; it's the little things, truly, that make a big difference.

Well, One Day More! until Paris. I love you all and pray all the best for you!

Avec amour,
Sœur Kate Simpson

P.S. my new address is

Les Missionnaires
Sœur Kate Simpson
63 rue de la Tombe Issoire
75014 Paris
France

Check out this bear!
JK it's a dog, no worries

20 avril 2015

Bonjour tout le monde!

I hope all is well. This week went by super fast, it's already week 6 of the transfer! ONE MORE WEEK! Can't believe it. It is absolutely beautiful here in east Paris. The sun has shone everyday and it's warm, almost too warm, and everything is green, there are flowers every, and VALERIE IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON SUNDAY!

There are so many things to be grateful for. :)

We got a surprise on Thursday night. The APs called and informed us that we would be receiving a sister for the rest of the transfer because her companion went home. TRIO encore! Soeur Brandenburg, who was serving in St. Ouen, northern Paris, came to us Saturday morning and we've been rocking the threesome once again. She is very nice. It's been a stressful week for her, and this week is going to be pretty stressful trying to get everything ready for the missionary fire side and the baptism this coming weekend, not to mention Soeur Tane packing to go home, and potentially me changing areas, and ah! Lot's going on. BUT with lots of prayers and looking for the miracles, the work continues, and the Lord is with us every step of the way.

This week, metaphorically speaking, I felt like I was finally reaching the top of a mountain, when all of a sudden, the course changed and the climb got a bit steeper. But! I know it's making me stronger and I am not alone on this path. It gives me great comfort to know my Savior, Jesus Christ, knows exactly how I feel and what a blessing that is. He lives. I know he loves us. He is with us every single step of the way. :)

Be good. Do more. Look outward!

Love,
Soeur Kate Simpson

En Garde! - 13 avril 2015

Bonjour à tous!

What a splendid week. The sun shone, the temperature was beautiful, no tights, we had Zone Conference, we met our goal to teach 21 lessons, we met some amazing people and invited them to come unto Christ, and we had a blast doing it. :)

Esther, our wonderful amie
who is preparing for baptism too!
Villiers-sur-Marne, Paris

It was a week full of miracles. Soeur Tane and I decided that it was totally possible to teach 21 lessons in one week. 3 lessons a day, seems easy enough, right? Here in France that is not extremely easy to do, or so everyone says and thinks. I've never taught that many lessons in one week, nor have many companionships that I know of. Well, with a change of thought, a whole lot of prayer, and a whole lot of trying, we were able to reach that goal with a whole lot of heavenly help. I truly felt that we were directed to many of those we met and taught this week. It was SO cool to see Soeur Tane on fire and so excited to work. Of course, it was also a week full of trials and difficulties, but we both were able to learn, start over and try again.

Our 21st lesson was with a Jehovah's Witness who just Bible-bashed us, to which we loving listened, testified, and thanked her for talking with us, even though she completely drove away the spirit and left us feeling stupid. After we walked away from her, I asked if we could say a prayer to get the spirit back. It was so comforting to know that He is there for us, He loves us, and we truly are His messengers. We then sung, "Let us all press on" in French and it pumped us right back up. The words in french for the chorus are, "En garde! voici nos ennemis. Courage! Nous avons Jésus-Christ!" I love it. What beauty there is in the gospel of Christ.

Valerie, one of our progressing investigators, decided for sure that she wants to be baptized the 26 of

Valerie and her daughter Anais
Aren't they just adorable?
She's gonna get baptized! I just know it!

April. As in 2 weeks from now. Ah! So cool. There is still a lot to teach and a lot for her to understand, but I have the faith that she can do it. We taught her the Word of Wisdom on Thursday and guess what? She told us that since she met us, something told her that she needed to limit her coffee drinking, and she has! She doesn't drink or smoke, which is super rare in France. It is so amazing to see the ways the Lord has prepared her to follow Him, without her even knowing.

On Wednesday, we had an awesome 8:50pm miracle. We just had 10 minutes left until returning home for the night, and we decided we were going to teach one more person. We prayed for

Elisa, our lovely Brasilian miracle
We had a little lesson in Portuguese,
Spanish, and French.
Definitely with the gift of tongues.
Soeur Tane prayed in Spanish.
Super cool miracle.
Chelles, East Paris

just one more miracle. As we finished praying, we walked just a bit down the street to a bus stop where a lady was standing just chillin with her phone in hand. I looked at Soeur Tane and we both knew she was the one. Liaqui is her name and she is absolutely delightful. She is from China, but has been in France for a long time, so luckily she speaks French, and has visited America quite a bit for work too. We shared with her the message of Easter and the joy and happiness we can have by following Jesus Christ and His gospel. Turns out she is going to move, so we offered to help, to which she accepted, we got her info, and ah! MIRACLES!

Zone Conference was wonderful. I love conferences. It was mostly about finding new amies and how to better contact, find, and teach by the spirit. Faith over Fear was the training given by the APs and it was just what I needed. A phrase which my mom wrote to me came to my head, "what would I do if I wasn't afraid?" Reflecting on why I am sometimes hesitant to open my mouth and share the beautiful message I carry helped me to realize there is no good excuse. I then decided to have more faith and just do it. #nike The Lord is with us and we can do it!

And Zone Conference was a mini high school reunion too. Gotta love serving with Darts! It is so fun

Davis Darts Class of 2013
at Zone Conference <3
Elder Blackham, Elder Tidwell, Elder Garcia,
Elder Hedquist, Soeur Hogan, Soeur Simpson
Saint Merri, Paris

to see so many of us in the same mission.

Well, I wish you all a wonderful week. Life is good in Nogent! Just 2 more weeks until transfers. "Killing" Soeur Tane has been an adventure and I'm sure it's going to get even crazier in these final 2 weeks, but the Lord has supported me so much, and her as well. I know we can do it!

I love you! Be good. Be courageous. Just do it!

Love,
Soeur Kate Simpson