Hey fam!!
Thanks so much for the updates! I'm glad to hear things are going well and that some things haven't changed. (Just so you know, currently there are two men (yup) evidently learning a dance off the internet next to us and there are definitely some expressive arm movements going on. Really quite entertaining, though slightly distracting.) Mom--im so glad that cals and liz came up (haha remember the very first time they came up and you found us all crying together on the couch? classic.) i told liz to give you a hug for me, so hopefully she made good! (no pressure liz hehe)
Ok, i just feel like I have so much to tell you I dont even know where to begin. I'm gonna cut out as much as possible, but just know that we have had a week of miracles! However, I have to back up a little and tell you one story from last week. So, i told you about the 57-yr-old lady in the ward who has 8 birds, 7 cats, AND 3 yr old triplets, right? (Her husband left her when she was pregnant and refused to abort any of the babies). Well, she was scheduled to have hip surgery a couple weeks ago. She was all checked into the hospital, ready to go for the next morning, when they found a huge sore/infection on her arm, that turned out to be shingles (i think....again. french vocab kinda stretched on that one) caused by stress. (cant imagine what the poor thing would have to stress about....) Anyway, so, of course, they can't operate on her then and send her back to take care of the infection. So, the elders come with us one night to give her a blessing and it turned into quite the experience. First off, Elder Volpe is talking to her, getting the story, and his face was just about the most hilarious thing i have ever seen, as she starts unbuttoning her shirt (to show him the huge sore on her arm)! He mutters in english, "im scared. im really scared." I'm so mean, but i was definitely having a hard time keeping the chuckling contained. Plus, she had a shirt on underneath, so no worries!
K, so then we are ready to sing and pray before the blessing, and all of a sudden Sister England like yelp-screams from the other side of the table. Remember the 7 cats? Well, one of them had apparently crawled into her purse and cuddled up, so when she reached in to grab her hymn book she was a little surprised to have a big furry thing there instead. Then, of course, the lady starts freaking out, "did one of the triplets put that in there?!!!" HAHAHAHAHA. Kind of Herdmann esque, but the elders were good sports, the blessing was beautiful, and she was really grateful. K then, that same night, we go to our next rendezvous and their little apartment is infested with cockroaches. (Like you open a cupboard, and you brush them off the jar you want to get out.) They are at least the little ones, but when I am like bearing my testimony about something and the girl shoots out her hand to brush a cockroach away from my arm, I all of a sudden feel somewhat less secure about things. K there was a very good reason i was not sent to a mission in the jungle--I would not have survived. I had nightmares about cockroaches in my purse all night!
So, this is a side note, but another interesting phenomenon I've noticed and get a kick out of every time (that takes place way more frequently than you'd think because you just forget that the number of truly normal people in this world may be on a decline) is when random people feel compelled to give you their two cents in order to put you in you're place. (because of the nametag, of course). My two favorites this week would both be categorized as memorable metro moments. The first--we're waiting on the quai, the doors open, a guy is standing there about ready to get off, but pauses and glances at our nametags and then says, "Hell. Direct.," before steeping down and walking casually away. (i just smiled at sister england and was like well apparently we are going DIRECTLY to hell. not passing go or collecting 200 dollars.) The second was a different guy sitting a little ways off, who you could just tell was festering with something to say to us. So right before he gets off, he comes over and with a very severe finger waggle (always my favorite part hehe) tells us that God does not exist and that we need to stop believing in fairytales, etc. Of course these experiences make for good stories, but really you just feel so bad for these people. How much more happiness would be theirs, if they would just let it in?!
But, there are a lot of people who are ready to let it in!! Wednesday morning we passed by some old investigators and we found two of them home!! (well, one of them walked up as we were waiting on the doorstep.) BUT, they both let us in and we had great lessons and they fixed return rendezvous!! Mylene has still been reading the book of mormon and believes it is true. And Aurelie believes that Joseph Smith is a prophet and still has a desire to be baptized! I am super excited to get to work with them.) Saturday we placed 5 Book of Mormons. And Sunday, two new people came to church and it was a great fast and testimony meeting!!! People are ready and miracles are happening.
Those two people who came to church were Faman and Helene (this is a new Helene). I don't think i ever told you the story about Faman. When we were coming back from conference one night, this big group of teenage girls was on the metro and they were all laughing and giggling and trying to flirt with one of the elders and talking about how they were looking for his name on facebook. Anyway, it was all kind of amusing and when they got off I saw this guy laughing at them across the metro, so we made eye contact and exchanged smiles. Anyway, we get off the metro in a couple stops and start walking away, but I look back and see that guy looking at us still. So, thank goodness my comp was on the ball (total fumble on my part not having a card ready) cuz i asked her to hand me a card quick and i ran back and slipped it to him before the doors shut. Didn't think much about it until the next morning we get a call from someone saying, "yeah now i dont know what number this is exactly. Someone just gave me a card, but i'm having a hard time finding this address to go to church." For real! (K I can count on one hand the number of times people have actually called after giving them a card. Actually, im not even sure i'd need a whole hand, but it happened twice this week!) Turns out, Faman just moved here about a month ago from Sri Lanka and said he has been looking for a place to go to church. He said he went to our church when he was living in Romania too. (Granted im not quite as positive about that because he said they used wine for the sacrament and had never heard of the Book of Mormon.) But, he is way cool and chill about things. The Sunday School lesson was kinda confusing for someone's first exposure to the church, but he was just kinda like, "hey I'll get it. Little by little."
Ok and then Helene's story is so cool! I'll fill you in how it unfolded for us. A bishopric member comes up shortly before Sacrament meeting is about to start and says "hey sisters, this is Helene. She just sonned at the door and It's her first time here." So, we greet her and ask how she is doing and she just starts crying. So, she sits down, pulls it together a little, but then we start singing and she starts crying all over again and hardly stops for the rest of the meeting. So, sister england turns around to me and says "i have no idea what is going on, but do you think we should ask her if she wants a blessing?" She asks her and she says yes, so we talked about who we could ask, decided on Guillaume , and I went and asked him. The blessing was wonderful and she said she felt "different." Just so grateful for the way the Holy Ghost can touch people's hearts! Anyway, we asked her if she would be interested in learning more about why she felt that way and about the church and she said yes. (So we're seeing her on tuesday!) But, fast forward to about an hour later, everyone is almost gone and Guillaume asks us if we knew the story with her. No. So cool--I guess he was out working with Elder Ostler like 6 months ago and they contacted her on a metro (she had been praying to God that she would find a church and then the elders and guillaume sat down right across from her!). She had a problem with her teeth that following Sunday, so she didn't come to church, and then admitted she just lacked the motivation after that. But, that morning there was just something that pushed her to come to church and she still had the address, so she came. We had no idea of any of that when we asked Guillaume to give her the blessing, but it was definitely a tender mercy that she already had a connection with him. Just another testimony that this is the Lord's work and it is so wonderful to be a part of it. We should never be "weary in well-doing," because we never know what will come out of a seemingly insignificant conversation that happened 6 months ago!
We also had interviews this week, and they were great as always. President Staheli walks out and goes, "Mountain West Conference coach of the year!" Really? haha. (Did you forget to mention that or did you tell me and i'm just a terrible daughter and didn't congratulate you on that?!) I also love talking with him and Sister Staheli! The topic of his training was the Book of Mormon and how combined with the spirit, it is our greatest tool in conversion. He talked about ways to use it better and more often, and then the assistants directed us in role-play practice of the first invitation to read the Book of Mormon. K, but not like split off into your own corners and practice, we're talking like a companionship comes up in front of the whole zone and practices and then everyone critiques them. I'll be honest, I wasn't super looking forward to our turn (probably an understatement hehe), but we survived and learned some good things, so I really was grateful for the "opportunity." haha. I am very grateful for the converting power of the Book of Mormon. It's a power you can't describe, but is very real and helps make up for some of my own weaknesses in teaching and speaking French.
Ok, that might be a new level of confusing rambling! Good luck getting anything out of that. But, unfortunately, I'm not quite done because I also learned a few new things this week pendant the latest episode of the adventures of holmes and watson.
LEARNINGS of the week:
1. Putting trick candles on Elder Volpe's birthday cake and watching him react to them is even better than watching 3-yr-olds. Maybe they don't have trick candles in Italy.....
2. "Is that a cheese?" is apparently not a good opener. Learned that one the hard way! hehe. Sat down next to this woman, who looked like she was maybe having a hard time of things lately, but decided to try to start a friendly chat. It looked like she was eating some cheese, so I figured hey, french cheeses are friendly and harmless enough...not so! There was definitely some throwing of things into bags and muttering and much arm gesturing that followed. Needless to say, I have abandoned that option.
3. I learned that should you ever comment on an older "ish" lady's collection of perfume, you will be doused from head to toe with it--doomed to leaving a lingering scent whereever you go for like three days! I am not joking that I could still smell that stuff after 2 showers. Rookie mistake.
4. I learned that should you accept directional help from a certain muslim man, you may or may not be put in the awkward position of having to decline his asking if he can come live with you after your mission.
5. I learned that if you start talking to the man on the bench, who is from Martinique, then you may be offered a tour of the neighborhood, which, according to our well-versed guide, "is really more like a village, because it's got a small town charm." (He actually turned out had been taught by missionaries in the past. He's got some way crazy ideas, but he was super nice and gave a great tour!)
6. I learned that should you happen to compliment a Senegalese (?) woman on her gorgeous African dress, she will stop and be practically giddy and give you huge smooches on each cheek!
7. I learned that Germans who are trying to escape you by saying that they don't speak French very well, will be very not happy to having admitted they speak English when you tell them that you, also, speak English much better! (That man was really not pleased and just groaned, shook his head and walked stubbornly away. It was pretty dang funny.)
7. We learned that apparently using the dryer, vacuum, two burners, the oven, as well as the lights and two refrigerators all at the same time is not a good option in France. But, we did eventually figure out how to turn the power back on, so we redeemed ourselves a little.
8. We also learned that candles provide more than just a great apartment atmosphere for companionship study, but also are very convenient starburst roasting tools! (We celebrated Sister England and Sister Thompson's one year mark!)
As far as the terrorist update goes--we received instruction that we are supposed to avoid public transportation during rush hours in the morning and in the evening. And thanks for the advice to follow the spirit w/o question. Actually, I don’t know if I ever told you, but once when I was with Sister Bellini, in the ghetto, I firmly believe we were protected by the Spirit. We were in a semi-sketchy area, but it was mid-day and there were people around. We were trying to find this address to go meet a potential new investigator, but were doing a little wandering. Anyway, we were about to cross a street and we both stopped dead in our tracks and sister Bellini turned to me & said, “I don’t feel good.” And I told her I didn’t either and we turned around and got out of there. Have no idea what would have/could have happened, but was grateful to be warned. Anyway, we had not heard a word about the Eiffel tower being evacuated or anything, that’s crazy!
Well gang, we definitely have to run--lunch at a street cafe by Notre Dame and maybe an excursion to Sainte Chapelle and some scarf shopping are on the agenda for today. Miss you, love you lots and think I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family! I'm glad you're keeping me updated on some of the inside jokes, because I think laughing with you guys is one of my favorite things in the world! (Dad, you are right--that was a classic Pearce and John moment!) I pray for you every day. Hope you have a good week!!!
love, jordo
Oh and just because this was adorable--My favorite metro moment of this week was talking to this five "AND a half" yr old boy (I was under strict instructions not to forget the half), who did fyi have an earring just like his dad. He was hilarious and after we had exchanged birthdays and stuff, he turns and asks me, "How would you grow without having birthdays?" I definitely copped out and told him that that would be a great question for his dad!
Tara--I met an Elder Reed, the day that the new missionaries came in, who said he knew you! (Steven maybe? but no, still have not met elder hales) The poor thing looked like he was about to fall over on the spot from jet lag, but he was hilarious and told me I was exactly like you. I took that as a compliment! Did I ask how the porcupines did? oh and i told all the sisters here about your Keats presentation and they were all as impressed as I was--seriously creative! love you sister. oh and i have a christmas favor--dont send me anything but this of course--but how would you feel about making me a good christmas CD or two? i didnt come very prepared. christmas is a little different i guess, because pretty much anything goes (k like maybe not rudolph the red nosed reindeer type stuff), but it doesnt have to be strictly motab.....would that be too much of a pain with all your hecticness going on?)
John--doesnt sound like you need my help. "star gazing?" Bahahaha. still getting a good chuckle out of that one. But thanks for the details about your life. sure love you johnny bravo!
Matthew--nope, i never had to do a bug thing, which is good cuz i probably would have failed! lizards i can handle, bugs--not so much. and as far as ecuador goes....i think you'll have to give me a little explanation on where in the world that one came from??? What's the last name of the girl in your seminary class? love you math! (hahaha "wathcloth" hahah)
Josh--dude, i could definitely tell that you are an old pro at New York because those drawings were very accurate. I was way impressed with the details. And you're right--i do miss two of halle's birthdays and only one of yours, but I love you both!! but we totally still have our cool people with december birthdays club, k? love you joshy man!!
Hals-I just got your leaf creation today and wow that was beautiful! did you find all those leaves yourself? and girlfriend, I hear you are kickin some booty in gymnastics and piano these days. I'm pretty excited to come to your meets next year. love you halle baby!
p.s. If you ever see Andrew, ask him if he ever taught Gwenelle when he was in Troyes (because she was just baptized this last weekend!), and tell him that Elder Holcombe is still sportin his pants proudly. haha. Also, I ran across one of his fiches for Fati Bounab the other day. She didn't seem super interested in seeing us, but she was really nice!
p.s.s how are Cal and Cameron doing? (TOTALLY cool about the ukraine temple.)
p.p.s tell the rashes thank you so so much!!! beckham is absolutely adorable!!!! give those cheeks a big kiss for me (i still am not very pleased that he will probably be like walking by the time i get home, nor will he have any clue who i am!!! we'll have to make up for it.....) And i loved the notes from the kids!
p.p.s.s. Tell Lisa thanks for the emails, I do get them but can’t respond directly!
PSS president told us to pass it along that if our parents are sending christmas packages to the mission home, they need to be there by December 1st.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Here's to the Weekly Adventures of Holmes and Watson
Hey gang!!!!
It was so great to hear from you. Somehow this last week has been like impossibly long, so it felt like it had been forever. It warmed my heart to hear that there was at least the necessary grumbling about the canyon-conference-oohing-and-aahing-at-the-leaves-drive to make sure that the tradition stays alive!! Just wouldn't be the same without it. And I got a good chuckle out of Tara reminding me of mom's threats to pause conference if people don't stop talking. hahaha!!!!!! Home sweet home. Well, we will probably have some time this afternoon to write some letters, so i will respond to all the good stuff you said then.
So, Sister England and I walked out of our apartment one morning and were on the metro before either of us, apparently, looked down to notice what we were wearing: black shoes, tan nylons, black skirt, purple sweater, and long tan trenchcoat. Yup....both of us. Chalk it up to comp unity or whatev, but we totally looked like TJs and/or little kids dressing up as detectives (think mary kate and ashley--the younger years). All we were missing was the magnifying glass. It was ridiculous. And that is how the adventures of Holmes and Watson began!! Yeah, we are totally cheesy, but "What PoA would you suggest now Watson?" has definitely become one of my more favorite things to say! (side note--i can't believe i am actually publicly admitting how much we are still livin it up as little girls!hehe)
Adventures of Holmes and Watson:
1. Sister England (aka Watson) declared war on the fruit flies that had infiltrated our apartment. Her method of choice was very telling of her character. Instead of just talking and scheming about different ways to get rid of them, she just went and pulled out the vacuum and chased them all over the place sucking them up one by one! Seriously, her mentality of just getting up and getting things done is something I really admire about her.
2. K, it's probably a toss up between my two worst blonde moments of the week. First, we are walking down a sidewalk one day and i feel a large drop of some unidentified liquid land on my neck. I, of course, look up, searching for the culprit in some house wife watering her flowers on a balcony or something. Didn't see anything. Kept walking. Felt another splash on my face. Another on the top of my head. What the heck; that's so gross?! Still see nothing. So, then I start doing all these little quick movements trying to dodge the housewife's "gross" liquid. Until.....I realize it is raining. Dodging raindrops is certainly no easy task! (Sister England hasn't let me forget that one.) Second, I came to the very obvious realization that i probably should have taken a world religions class before coming out, because the out-loud train of thought that took place as I, (just THIS week mind you) put the Baptist church together with John the Baptist was definitely not one of my prouder moments. So, needless to say, the blonde in me may have won a couple rounds this week.
3. So I called Helene one night (fyi she has been super fruijy lately and has been saying she's too busy to set up a rendezvous, "but hasnt forgotten us") and before we hung up, she asked me if I was still praying for her. Actually, more like she cross examined me about what exactly I was praying for in her regard! So once I had sufficiently reassured her, she said "ok good. And don't worry I've been praying for you too. I remember how you told me you weren't married, so I've been praying for you to find a husband." BAHAHAHA. I burst out laughing on the phone about that one! But really, it was very african sweet of her, so I just thanked her and didn't even bother mentioning that that was probably the furthest thing from my mind!
4. Watson and I also made home-made cinnamon rolls for conference weekend! Rather, I assisted and fetched items as Watson made home-made cinnamon rolls for conference weekend. hehe So, sunday morning we had a pajama feast with the other sisters while listening to christmas music. I'm normally such a stickler about no christmas music til Thanksgiving night, but it's been in the air!!! Probably because the sweaters, scarves, and coats are starting to come out and we have started to run through piles of leaves in the morning! (mom--you asked for details about how we watch conference. For the Paris stakes they transmit it at the Versailles and Nogent chapels. So, we went to Nogent Saturday evening to watch the RS session and the Saturday am session. Then Sunday we went and watched the saturday afternoon session from 2-4 and the sunday morning session live from 6-8. So, we'll have to wait til the liahona/ensign comes out to read the sunday afternoon session. The main chapel is set up to watch it in french, but then they usually set up a little side classroom to watch it in english and spanish. Conference weekends are seriously the two best of the year!!!)
5. We accompanied Tina to conference in Nogent on Sunday night (fyi she was passed to the paris sisters because they found out she actually lives in that area), and probably the first thing out of her mouth when we met her at the train station had something to do with black magic!!! hehe. Oh, it was so good to see Tina again!
6. This wasn't technically our adventure, but still pretty funny. We ran into Sister Bellini on her last p-day and she said that Antoine had gotten a calling as a ward missionary. Which is perfect for him! (I think his 26 yr old son is going to start coming to church soon too...) But, he was there for the DMP meeting after church, of course, and the DMP kinda stoned by getting to the recent converts and saying "ok and what are we doing about Antoine?" Oops. Welcome to the inside workings of the church antoine!! Sister Bellini said she turned to him and was like, "So, Antoine, could we keep seeing you?" Yes. "Ok then, that's settled."
Oh dangit, i totally ran out of time and didn't even get to the good stories this week! Super sorry, but i guess I’ll have to fill you in on the cockroaches, cats, triplets, and metro miracles next week, or in my letters this afternoon.
love you lots and lots. sure grateful for ya!
love, pordo
oh and mom dont worry about the terrorist stuff! we'll be smart and they take care of us. stop fretting!
It was so great to hear from you. Somehow this last week has been like impossibly long, so it felt like it had been forever. It warmed my heart to hear that there was at least the necessary grumbling about the canyon-conference-oohing-and-aahing-at-the-leaves-drive to make sure that the tradition stays alive!! Just wouldn't be the same without it. And I got a good chuckle out of Tara reminding me of mom's threats to pause conference if people don't stop talking. hahaha!!!!!! Home sweet home. Well, we will probably have some time this afternoon to write some letters, so i will respond to all the good stuff you said then.
So, Sister England and I walked out of our apartment one morning and were on the metro before either of us, apparently, looked down to notice what we were wearing: black shoes, tan nylons, black skirt, purple sweater, and long tan trenchcoat. Yup....both of us. Chalk it up to comp unity or whatev, but we totally looked like TJs and/or little kids dressing up as detectives (think mary kate and ashley--the younger years). All we were missing was the magnifying glass. It was ridiculous. And that is how the adventures of Holmes and Watson began!! Yeah, we are totally cheesy, but "What PoA would you suggest now Watson?" has definitely become one of my more favorite things to say! (side note--i can't believe i am actually publicly admitting how much we are still livin it up as little girls!hehe)
Adventures of Holmes and Watson:
1. Sister England (aka Watson) declared war on the fruit flies that had infiltrated our apartment. Her method of choice was very telling of her character. Instead of just talking and scheming about different ways to get rid of them, she just went and pulled out the vacuum and chased them all over the place sucking them up one by one! Seriously, her mentality of just getting up and getting things done is something I really admire about her.
2. K, it's probably a toss up between my two worst blonde moments of the week. First, we are walking down a sidewalk one day and i feel a large drop of some unidentified liquid land on my neck. I, of course, look up, searching for the culprit in some house wife watering her flowers on a balcony or something. Didn't see anything. Kept walking. Felt another splash on my face. Another on the top of my head. What the heck; that's so gross?! Still see nothing. So, then I start doing all these little quick movements trying to dodge the housewife's "gross" liquid. Until.....I realize it is raining. Dodging raindrops is certainly no easy task! (Sister England hasn't let me forget that one.) Second, I came to the very obvious realization that i probably should have taken a world religions class before coming out, because the out-loud train of thought that took place as I, (just THIS week mind you) put the Baptist church together with John the Baptist was definitely not one of my prouder moments. So, needless to say, the blonde in me may have won a couple rounds this week.
3. So I called Helene one night (fyi she has been super fruijy lately and has been saying she's too busy to set up a rendezvous, "but hasnt forgotten us") and before we hung up, she asked me if I was still praying for her. Actually, more like she cross examined me about what exactly I was praying for in her regard! So once I had sufficiently reassured her, she said "ok good. And don't worry I've been praying for you too. I remember how you told me you weren't married, so I've been praying for you to find a husband." BAHAHAHA. I burst out laughing on the phone about that one! But really, it was very african sweet of her, so I just thanked her and didn't even bother mentioning that that was probably the furthest thing from my mind!
4. Watson and I also made home-made cinnamon rolls for conference weekend! Rather, I assisted and fetched items as Watson made home-made cinnamon rolls for conference weekend. hehe So, sunday morning we had a pajama feast with the other sisters while listening to christmas music. I'm normally such a stickler about no christmas music til Thanksgiving night, but it's been in the air!!! Probably because the sweaters, scarves, and coats are starting to come out and we have started to run through piles of leaves in the morning! (mom--you asked for details about how we watch conference. For the Paris stakes they transmit it at the Versailles and Nogent chapels. So, we went to Nogent Saturday evening to watch the RS session and the Saturday am session. Then Sunday we went and watched the saturday afternoon session from 2-4 and the sunday morning session live from 6-8. So, we'll have to wait til the liahona/ensign comes out to read the sunday afternoon session. The main chapel is set up to watch it in french, but then they usually set up a little side classroom to watch it in english and spanish. Conference weekends are seriously the two best of the year!!!)
5. We accompanied Tina to conference in Nogent on Sunday night (fyi she was passed to the paris sisters because they found out she actually lives in that area), and probably the first thing out of her mouth when we met her at the train station had something to do with black magic!!! hehe. Oh, it was so good to see Tina again!
6. This wasn't technically our adventure, but still pretty funny. We ran into Sister Bellini on her last p-day and she said that Antoine had gotten a calling as a ward missionary. Which is perfect for him! (I think his 26 yr old son is going to start coming to church soon too...) But, he was there for the DMP meeting after church, of course, and the DMP kinda stoned by getting to the recent converts and saying "ok and what are we doing about Antoine?" Oops. Welcome to the inside workings of the church antoine!! Sister Bellini said she turned to him and was like, "So, Antoine, could we keep seeing you?" Yes. "Ok then, that's settled."
Oh dangit, i totally ran out of time and didn't even get to the good stories this week! Super sorry, but i guess I’ll have to fill you in on the cockroaches, cats, triplets, and metro miracles next week, or in my letters this afternoon.
love you lots and lots. sure grateful for ya!
love, pordo
oh and mom dont worry about the terrorist stuff! we'll be smart and they take care of us. stop fretting!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Spoiled Rotten!
Family Dearest,
K seriously brings tears to my eyes thinking of Halle in a big kids bed. So not okay with that!!! But Hals, we love, love, loved the matching game! That was a pretty impressive little activity book you made for me. I'm getting pretty spoiled. Thanks so much! Ok, but seriously, on the subject of spoiling.....mother you have got to stop. I think you must be keeping the postal service in business single handedly. We went and got that package this morning and it was awesome!!! And the roomies loved the notecards, which fyi were adorable. And thanks for the blogs and pictures. And I'm not "arguing and bickering over who killed who" (still a stupid movie, but the quote was germane) about doing those pictures. I think it's a great idea. But really, thanks so much for doing that. Joshy man--you got to go to a yankees game?! That's pretty sweet dude. Did they win? Math--gotta say that all the sisters here were pretty impressed with the length of your last letter. How are those bugs coming along?! (ill be honest kinda sounds like one of those "i'd rather wake up with my tongue nailed to the floor, but you grin and bear it" type projects. good luck with that. And bummer that you guys choked that doubles match, but good job in singles! Speaking of choking......so Johnny bravo, how was your weekend?!!!! I don't think I need to say much else, but that was just too good! I'm glad that everyone is doing well. I don't know how you keep up with everything, but I think you guys are wonderful. I'm pretty spoiled to have such a great family.
And I'm pretty spoiled to get to be a missionary! Sheesh, where to even begin this week.......
Well, we'll start with the fluff:
1. Best public transportation siting of the week was probably seeing this old lady (we're talking white hair) whip out a sharpie and start graffitiing on the wall. Gotta love Paris.
2. There was another political manifestation on our street, and I actually saw some guy throw a big glass bottle at a police officer on a motorcycle. We opted for a momentary change of plans and got some of our transfer cleaning done that afternoon instead! haha.
3. I learned how to make gravy from scratch. K like butter, flour, bouillon, and milk. And for most people that's like a whatever, but mom you can rest assured that I managed to not even burn down the building--momentous occasion in my book! I might be able to graduate past bread duty when I get home! haha, well i guess i don't want to get too ahead of myself.....
4. Ya know how you always ask people if you can do anything for them before you leave? Well, this week someone was like, "yeah actually could you mop my floor? There's dish soap in the kitchen." So, I am not joking, we mopped her floor with DISH SOAP! I don't think elaboration is necessary on this one.
5. My new favorite "french person speaking english" quote is "bah, fanks!" (really 'thanks', but the whole 'th' thing is kinda a struggle for French mouths.) When we were volunteering at the Red Cross this week, we were practicing english with Eddie and I told him I liked something and he responded with the typical shoulder shrug and "bah merci", except the english version! Which, i didn't know existed, but is now one of the more frequently used expressions in our apartment.
We are currently teaching as many people as we can and working with a lot of less-actives, but the fact of the matter is simply that we need to keep finding more people to teach. So we're steppin things up. So, one thing that we started is a 40-day purification. We started by fasting for a day and then prayed about and wrote 10 things each that we could do better, and made a goal to completely eliminate, or add, those things for 40 days. If Paul talks about his weaknesses being like a thorn, all I can say is that I've got more like a big 'ole tree trunk sticking out of my side! But, we felt like this was a good way to make sure we would be spiritually prepared when we did find people to teach. And let's be real--I've got a long ways to go, but I've noticed some amazing things already. And one of those, interestingly enough, is confidence. You know how good Satan is at hammering me with doubt; I'm like easy prey! But, since I felt like I've been doing all I can to be exactly obedient and step up my game, I've felt more worthy of guidance from the Holy Ghost and of the Lord's confidence.
I was particularly grateful for that this week, because the night before our rendezvous with Michelle (the inactive YSA from England), we got a text from her saying that she had "come to a decision" and would tell us about it tomorrow. A groan and an "Ah man, this'll be fun" is right. So we were kinda hoping for the best (like crossing your fingers as tight as they will go), planning for the worst, and definitely in need of the confidence that we were worthy of the Lord's help going into that rendez-vous. And I was so not my typical self. I am like the world's best stresser (phd level achieved), but somehow I felt calm and confident going into the rendez-vous. She ended up telling us that she no longer wants to be a part of the church, that she doesn't believe it's true, that she believes it is run by man, that blah blah blah. (She has been looking at all sorts of garbage online, which i so eloquently referred to as "crap" during the lesson....oops!) Most of it I had heard before, but I'll be honest, I was a little shocked when she got to the prophet and apostles and said, "and who the heck do they think they are?" (Just so we're clear, she did not use the word heck....)
We didn't let her go on very long, because it was made clear that she was no longer willing to listen, to be taught, or to seek answers from the Spirit. (I'm not going to detail all the stuff that could be said about the ridiculousness of it all, but among other things, it was very ironic that she was using her belief that the church was run by "man" as a reason to turn away from it, when she was turning to and relying on "man" to make this very spiritually important decision for her.) It was not the time for pleading, but it was the time to be bold in talking about agency and its consequences and to bear testimony. I don't even remember most of what we said, and it's not important anyway, but I do remember feeling the spirit testifying of what we said, even though it was so NOT the outcome we wanted. Anyway, definitely some tears shed during the walk home, but I was also grateful for the reassurance that we had done our part. And there were only tears because it is so frustrating seeing these people you love make such STUPID decisions!!! So, my anger is kinda kindled against Satan. He might be working hard, but darnit I am going to work harder cuz I am bugged!! Let's not talk about whether or not that it is a righteous motivation or not, k?! hehe
Well, sorry, I feel like I didn't say much. But, what I lack in words, I hope is made up with a whole bunch of love! (yeah....i recognize that that is totally cheating, but, desperate times.....) I love you guys lots! Miss you lots too, but I really do love being a missionary. I might not be that great at it, but I'm sure grateful to be here. I loved the pictures this week and am going home to get those back in the mail to you today! Have a great week!!!
Love, Jordo xoxo
K seriously brings tears to my eyes thinking of Halle in a big kids bed. So not okay with that!!! But Hals, we love, love, loved the matching game! That was a pretty impressive little activity book you made for me. I'm getting pretty spoiled. Thanks so much! Ok, but seriously, on the subject of spoiling.....mother you have got to stop. I think you must be keeping the postal service in business single handedly. We went and got that package this morning and it was awesome!!! And the roomies loved the notecards, which fyi were adorable. And thanks for the blogs and pictures. And I'm not "arguing and bickering over who killed who" (still a stupid movie, but the quote was germane) about doing those pictures. I think it's a great idea. But really, thanks so much for doing that. Joshy man--you got to go to a yankees game?! That's pretty sweet dude. Did they win? Math--gotta say that all the sisters here were pretty impressed with the length of your last letter. How are those bugs coming along?! (ill be honest kinda sounds like one of those "i'd rather wake up with my tongue nailed to the floor, but you grin and bear it" type projects. good luck with that. And bummer that you guys choked that doubles match, but good job in singles! Speaking of choking......so Johnny bravo, how was your weekend?!!!! I don't think I need to say much else, but that was just too good! I'm glad that everyone is doing well. I don't know how you keep up with everything, but I think you guys are wonderful. I'm pretty spoiled to have such a great family.
And I'm pretty spoiled to get to be a missionary! Sheesh, where to even begin this week.......
Well, we'll start with the fluff:
1. Best public transportation siting of the week was probably seeing this old lady (we're talking white hair) whip out a sharpie and start graffitiing on the wall. Gotta love Paris.
2. There was another political manifestation on our street, and I actually saw some guy throw a big glass bottle at a police officer on a motorcycle. We opted for a momentary change of plans and got some of our transfer cleaning done that afternoon instead! haha.
3. I learned how to make gravy from scratch. K like butter, flour, bouillon, and milk. And for most people that's like a whatever, but mom you can rest assured that I managed to not even burn down the building--momentous occasion in my book! I might be able to graduate past bread duty when I get home! haha, well i guess i don't want to get too ahead of myself.....
4. Ya know how you always ask people if you can do anything for them before you leave? Well, this week someone was like, "yeah actually could you mop my floor? There's dish soap in the kitchen." So, I am not joking, we mopped her floor with DISH SOAP! I don't think elaboration is necessary on this one.
5. My new favorite "french person speaking english" quote is "bah, fanks!" (really 'thanks', but the whole 'th' thing is kinda a struggle for French mouths.) When we were volunteering at the Red Cross this week, we were practicing english with Eddie and I told him I liked something and he responded with the typical shoulder shrug and "bah merci", except the english version! Which, i didn't know existed, but is now one of the more frequently used expressions in our apartment.
We are currently teaching as many people as we can and working with a lot of less-actives, but the fact of the matter is simply that we need to keep finding more people to teach. So we're steppin things up. So, one thing that we started is a 40-day purification. We started by fasting for a day and then prayed about and wrote 10 things each that we could do better, and made a goal to completely eliminate, or add, those things for 40 days. If Paul talks about his weaknesses being like a thorn, all I can say is that I've got more like a big 'ole tree trunk sticking out of my side! But, we felt like this was a good way to make sure we would be spiritually prepared when we did find people to teach. And let's be real--I've got a long ways to go, but I've noticed some amazing things already. And one of those, interestingly enough, is confidence. You know how good Satan is at hammering me with doubt; I'm like easy prey! But, since I felt like I've been doing all I can to be exactly obedient and step up my game, I've felt more worthy of guidance from the Holy Ghost and of the Lord's confidence.
I was particularly grateful for that this week, because the night before our rendezvous with Michelle (the inactive YSA from England), we got a text from her saying that she had "come to a decision" and would tell us about it tomorrow. A groan and an "Ah man, this'll be fun" is right. So we were kinda hoping for the best (like crossing your fingers as tight as they will go), planning for the worst, and definitely in need of the confidence that we were worthy of the Lord's help going into that rendez-vous. And I was so not my typical self. I am like the world's best stresser (phd level achieved), but somehow I felt calm and confident going into the rendez-vous. She ended up telling us that she no longer wants to be a part of the church, that she doesn't believe it's true, that she believes it is run by man, that blah blah blah. (She has been looking at all sorts of garbage online, which i so eloquently referred to as "crap" during the lesson....oops!) Most of it I had heard before, but I'll be honest, I was a little shocked when she got to the prophet and apostles and said, "and who the heck do they think they are?" (Just so we're clear, she did not use the word heck....)
We didn't let her go on very long, because it was made clear that she was no longer willing to listen, to be taught, or to seek answers from the Spirit. (I'm not going to detail all the stuff that could be said about the ridiculousness of it all, but among other things, it was very ironic that she was using her belief that the church was run by "man" as a reason to turn away from it, when she was turning to and relying on "man" to make this very spiritually important decision for her.) It was not the time for pleading, but it was the time to be bold in talking about agency and its consequences and to bear testimony. I don't even remember most of what we said, and it's not important anyway, but I do remember feeling the spirit testifying of what we said, even though it was so NOT the outcome we wanted. Anyway, definitely some tears shed during the walk home, but I was also grateful for the reassurance that we had done our part. And there were only tears because it is so frustrating seeing these people you love make such STUPID decisions!!! So, my anger is kinda kindled against Satan. He might be working hard, but darnit I am going to work harder cuz I am bugged!! Let's not talk about whether or not that it is a righteous motivation or not, k?! hehe
Well, sorry, I feel like I didn't say much. But, what I lack in words, I hope is made up with a whole bunch of love! (yeah....i recognize that that is totally cheating, but, desperate times.....) I love you guys lots! Miss you lots too, but I really do love being a missionary. I might not be that great at it, but I'm sure grateful to be here. I loved the pictures this week and am going home to get those back in the mail to you today! Have a great week!!!
Love, Jordo xoxo
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