Bonjour à tous,
Hey everybody...so, I am trying my emails again on my
iPad....hopefully it goes better this time! Today for P-day, Soeur
Ellis and I spent the afternoon with the Antony soeurs (Soeur Kitchen
and Soeur Bernhisel), and we ended up going to the Versailles gardens
and the temple site encore! It was so fun! It was really cool to get
to see the progress they have made from the last time I was there.
Haha, it was actually kind of funny because we snuck around the corner
of the gate where there was a little opening and were able to touch
the foundation! So, now I can officially say I touched le foundation
de le maison de Dieu!!! Chouette! I will attach some pics below...
We also had our zone conference on last Thursday. It was pretty great.
I am still a little hopped up on my medications so it was a little
hard for me to stay awake. Some of the elders sitting behind us giving
me tic tacs to stay awake...probably one of my favorite parts;) We
talked a lot about teaching by faith. It was a good refresher and
thinking back on it now, I really needed it because this past weekend
was a real tough one for me and Soeur Ellis. We ended up getting a new
ami coordinate from some of the other missionaries. A woman named
Marie called and told the missionaries that her fiancé who is Ivory
Coast is a member and had told her a lot about he church, and she
ended up looking up our information online to schedule a rdv. We were
pretty excited about that. Well, we went over and met her and had this
kick butt lesson. The Spirit was flying everywhere!!! Like Marie was
so solid, she was a little hesitant hearing the term Mormon...but
after we Elaine's a little bit to her, she told us that she wanted to
make up her mind for herself and wanted to come to church with us. We
were on cloud 9! We gave her a Book of Mormon before we left the rdv
and she was beyond ecstatic. Like everything was so awesome we
couldn't believe it. So, Sunday morning rolls around and we call
her....but she wouldn't answer....so we waited as long as we could and
texted her to tell her how to get to church. And we were so stoked
because we had some of our less actives there. Well...later Sunday
night, we were finishing up our planning and in the middle of our
conversation, we got a text from Marie saying that she had thought
things through and she isn't interested. Oh man, I cannot even tell
you how devastated we were! Soeur Ellis and I just kinda sat there for
awhile and didn't even know what to say back to her. Finally, we both
just wrapped up together on the floor and said a prayer. Honestly it
was one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever said. We were both
at a loss of words. Most of our rendezvous the day before Marie had
all fell through and things" just weren't working out. But seriously,
as I was kneeling next to my companion on the floor...both of us just
ready to cry; feeling like crap....we poured our hearts out to
Heavenly Father. And I can and will honestly testify to anyone who
will listen that there is not a prayer that goes unheard to our
Heavenly Father. He knows our hearts and He knows what we need better
than we do. I found a quote right after that prayer that really
touched me that said, "Just because God is smiling on someone else,
doesn't mean He is frowning on you", I am reminded of that over and
over again in my mission. The lords timing is not our own. During
these different times during my missionary service I hear the success
of other missionaries and wonder why, despite my best efforts, I am
not seeing the same kind of results--why I am not being blessed the
same way they are. It is during these moments when I began to compare
my results and progress with that of others. It reminds me that there
are good things about my area and the work here. I need to remember
that God is blessing me as I serve Him the best I am able to, even if
it wasn’t the same way He was blessing the other missionaries. And I
love that! There is a 'Je suis Mormon' video that says it
perfectly....I am a piece of work but a work in progress. God doesn't
give us trials to punish us...but because we just need a little more
polishing. Something that I am trying to remember. One of my favorite
scriptures is in 1 Peter 5:7. I am sure I have shared it before....but
I just want you to know that I know Heavenly Father hears all our
prayers...even those that go unspoken. I love you all and hope you
have a great week. I will try and send as many pictures as I can.
Drop me a line if ever you get the chance!
Have a great week!!!!
XOXOXO
Bisous,
Soeur Nelson
Hey everybody...so, I am trying my emails again on my
iPad....hopefully it goes better this time! Today for P-day, Soeur
Ellis and I spent the afternoon with the Antony soeurs (Soeur Kitchen
and Soeur Bernhisel), and we ended up going to the Versailles gardens
and the temple site encore! It was so fun! It was really cool to get
to see the progress they have made from the last time I was there.
Haha, it was actually kind of funny because we snuck around the corner
of the gate where there was a little opening and were able to touch
the foundation! So, now I can officially say I touched le foundation
de le maison de Dieu!!! Chouette! I will attach some pics below...
We also had our zone conference on last Thursday. It was pretty great.
I am still a little hopped up on my medications so it was a little
hard for me to stay awake. Some of the elders sitting behind us giving
me tic tacs to stay awake...probably one of my favorite parts;) We
talked a lot about teaching by faith. It was a good refresher and
thinking back on it now, I really needed it because this past weekend
was a real tough one for me and Soeur Ellis. We ended up getting a new
ami coordinate from some of the other missionaries. A woman named
Marie called and told the missionaries that her fiancé who is Ivory
Coast is a member and had told her a lot about he church, and she
ended up looking up our information online to schedule a rdv. We were
pretty excited about that. Well, we went over and met her and had this
kick butt lesson. The Spirit was flying everywhere!!! Like Marie was
so solid, she was a little hesitant hearing the term Mormon...but
after we Elaine's a little bit to her, she told us that she wanted to
make up her mind for herself and wanted to come to church with us. We
were on cloud 9! We gave her a Book of Mormon before we left the rdv
and she was beyond ecstatic. Like everything was so awesome we
couldn't believe it. So, Sunday morning rolls around and we call
her....but she wouldn't answer....so we waited as long as we could and
texted her to tell her how to get to church. And we were so stoked
because we had some of our less actives there. Well...later Sunday
night, we were finishing up our planning and in the middle of our
conversation, we got a text from Marie saying that she had thought
things through and she isn't interested. Oh man, I cannot even tell
you how devastated we were! Soeur Ellis and I just kinda sat there for
awhile and didn't even know what to say back to her. Finally, we both
just wrapped up together on the floor and said a prayer. Honestly it
was one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever said. We were both
at a loss of words. Most of our rendezvous the day before Marie had
all fell through and things" just weren't working out. But seriously,
as I was kneeling next to my companion on the floor...both of us just
ready to cry; feeling like crap....we poured our hearts out to
Heavenly Father. And I can and will honestly testify to anyone who
will listen that there is not a prayer that goes unheard to our
Heavenly Father. He knows our hearts and He knows what we need better
than we do. I found a quote right after that prayer that really
touched me that said, "Just because God is smiling on someone else,
doesn't mean He is frowning on you", I am reminded of that over and
over again in my mission. The lords timing is not our own. During
these different times during my missionary service I hear the success
of other missionaries and wonder why, despite my best efforts, I am
not seeing the same kind of results--why I am not being blessed the
same way they are. It is during these moments when I began to compare
my results and progress with that of others. It reminds me that there
are good things about my area and the work here. I need to remember
that God is blessing me as I serve Him the best I am able to, even if
it wasn’t the same way He was blessing the other missionaries. And I
love that! There is a 'Je suis Mormon' video that says it
perfectly....I am a piece of work but a work in progress. God doesn't
give us trials to punish us...but because we just need a little more
polishing. Something that I am trying to remember. One of my favorite
scriptures is in 1 Peter 5:7. I am sure I have shared it before....but
I just want you to know that I know Heavenly Father hears all our
prayers...even those that go unspoken. I love you all and hope you
have a great week. I will try and send as many pictures as I can.
Drop me a line if ever you get the chance!
Have a great week!!!!
XOXOXO
Bisous,
Soeur Nelson