Finding and Teaching

Backpack Gallery

Hello tout-le-monde! This week was a very rewarding week in a lot of ways. On Tuesday I went on exchange in a ville close to Montpellier, and had a fun time, the elder there is going home in three weeks, and is working super hard at the end, plus we got along really well, so the whole exchange was really good. Then Wednesday we had our district meeting, which went really well, with the huge push in the mission right now, we focused on the ways we can get our Amis to church, which was really good, we had a great discussion. Then Friday and Saturday we spent a large amount of time on exchange and outside finding people, which yielded a couple results. One of the biggest things this week for me was a miracle we saw last night. We had spent all week trying really hard to find new people to teach, a lot of time outside on the streets and talking to people, which was exhausting, and we didn't see a ton of success, but we did give it everything we had.

Local Wildlife

Then last night, we were sitting in our bedroom planning for the next day, when one of the members called, saying he had a friend who was really interested in the Plan of Salvation, and was wondering when we could see him next week. We got off the phone, and me and my companion were so stoked, we started jumping around in our room! It was a huge testimony to me that if we do the best we can, the Lord will bless us for our efforts, even though sometimes we may not see the immediate direct results in the way were expecting.  I'm so happy He did, and so stoked for this next week.
This week we had four different exchanges in four different villes this week, which made for a lot of train time, but a ton of fun! I went down to Perpignan first, which is at the southernmost tip of France, right next to Spain, and had a good day teaching and contacting with an old mission friend that I knew from my time in Narbonne, so that was a ton of fun. Then I got to stay here in Montpellier with another Elder, and we got fed by two of the member families here in one day, which is rare, so that was phenomenal, plus we got some really cool numbers from contacting in the streets. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were all spent partially in Carcassonne and Nîmes, in Carcassonne we spent all of 5 hours outside walking all over Carcassonne and talking with people/passing old Amis and members.

The time flew by because we were doing so well, and it reminded me heavily of my first few transfers in Narbonne, so it was great. In Nîmes we had a service project to help a member move, so that went well, and then I came back for a transmission of Stake Conference. Before going to Nîmes I had a few hours in Montpellier with my real companion, and we had one of the best Plan of Salvation lessons I've had on my mission. One of the members worked with a man who had lost his father a few months back, and had asked him if he would be willing to meet with us, to talk about the Plan of Salvation. He agreed, and it was a great lesson. We shared one of my favorite scriptures, in Alma 40:11-12. It speaks of the peace and happiness we will have after this life with our Heavenly Father, if we have led a just life and strived to keep the commandments of God. We talked about it, and the man seemed much more at ease and assured about his father, which was rewarding to see that in his eyes. It reminded me how grateful I am for the knowledge that after this life we will be at rest with our Father in Heaven. I know that's so true, and I love it.