Christmas Commitments and Country Line Dancing

This week we didn't have nearly as many chances to teach as we wanted, but it was good anyways -- we talked with a whole bunch of people on the street. We had a cool thing happen. Our former engagee lives in a small ville outside of Narbonne, and doesn’t have a cell phone, so after he dropped the first Rendez-vous it was almost impossible to get a hold of him. So the fourth time we tried, was the last time. We decided that we couldn’t afford to keep going out there for nothing. He was there!! He said that was his last day before he moved to Perpignan, so we were able to give him those elders his number and teach and testify one last time about the Book of Mormon to him before he left!

This was a super cool experience. Plus we talked with his cousin, a very sad person. He was telling us how he does a lot of bad things, because he's unhappy, but would quit if he could find a girlfriend or wife and family. We tried telling him that the best way to find happiness was to quit all those things before hand, and try to find Heavenly Father. He said there’s no way he could do that, he'd be too unhappy for the time in between. It struck me, and made me think of Ether 12:6, how the reward doesn’t come until AFTER the trial of our faith. Later we taught a lesson in church on missionary work. We didn’t know we were going to beforehand, but go figure. It was good. Life is good here in the south of France.

This week we got transfer calls, and I'm staying a third transfer in Narbonne, still with Elder Taylor, so that's super awesome, I'm excited to stay here! One of the biggest reasons is because we set a baptismal date with one of our ami's this week, he's been taking the lessons for a long time, but only just now committed! The date is set for Christmas Eve, so I'm praying that I get to stay one more transfer to be able to see it happen!

French Countryside

We also had an American Night this week with the Branch, which was super fun. We had hot dogs, played some card games, and taught them how to country line dance! Funny seeing all these French members trying to dance like Cowboys. I was considered the authority on proper technique because I'm from Texas, so that was interesting.  I'm not the world’s best country dancer, but it turned out well anyways! We also went on our bikes to this tiny ville called Salléles D'Aude, which was fun, despite the fact that the less active member we went to find, no longer lives there. The bike ride was an hour, but the vineyards were beautiful.

Then we had stake conference this weekend, which was super awesome. It was so much fun to see all the missionaries there, and all the members we've met on exchanges and such. Plus the talks were really good, they had two return missionaries speak, and that was awesome! Our mission president was there, and he taught and asked the stake to have the missionaries over more often, not only for their ami's, but for them personally, he testified we can bring the spirit into their home, and them proved it by having two of the Zone Leaders come up and teach a three minute lesson on the Savior and testify, which was powerful. The Spirit was there in abundance. 

Fun in District Meeting

Inspiration, Advice and Setting Mission Records

This week was spiritually uplifting in a lot of ways. One was that we were able to get to hear from a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, Elder Patrick Kearon, and that was so cool. It was a powerful experience, and we learned so much. One of the things that struck me was how much he emphasized how the way we start off our days can affect the whole mission. We were instructed that the best thing you can do from the time you wake up to the time you leave is to have vigor in everything you do, your morning exercises, your studies, and putting energy into everything. He also talked about how when we talk to someone about this gospel, it is important to become the message yourself, and to help them feel the spirit. Being a convert himself he described how it wasn’t the actual lessons that converted him, but the feelings the missionaries brought. He taught how we can make our missions and our lives better through our choices. When we commit to change and to choose better, the effect it can have is miraculous. The word CHOOSE was emphasized a lot, and how everything is really up to you, and you can choose how your mission and your life will go.

It gets cold in the apartment

We saw some funky attempts at Halloween here, the French don’t really celebrate it but it’s getting bigger and bigger.

Last week ended on a high note, and this week was just as great. We have progressed at a rate most missionaries said was impossible in Narbonne! For our mission's standards of excellence, the biggest and hardest thing to achieve is the lessons. We are expected to teach 20 lessons each week. That’s really difficult here, and not many people have achieved it yet. But one of them this week was US! 

We made the goal at the beginning of the week to really strive for the 20 lessons, and through an exhausting and worthwhile week, we got it! We now have three Ami's that we see semi regularly, and this week we actually found a new Ami, and he accepted a baptismal date our first lesson right there and then! We saw so many miracles, I have a testimony now that when a rendez-vous falls through, and they don’t show up, what we take that to mean is that the Lord has someone else for us to teach at that time, and this week every single time something fell through we were able to find a new person to teach on the road or after knocking their door.

I know we're being guided, and I'm so grateful to be a missionary right now. I know the Lord takes care of his servants, and if we are diligent, he will bless us. We actually had a little competition in our district this week for lessons, each lesson was worth points, depending on if there was a member present, if it was just normal, or on the road, and we won!

Why yes, I did eat snails. Delicious! 

All is well in our little ville of Narbonne, au revoir!