This week Soeur Holmgren and I took a two day journey to Annecy to do her legality. And when we finally got there, they said... ops, sorry, it didn't work. Sooooo- we turned back around and went home to Nice.
Annecy Encore
Haha. No but in all reality it was the best thing ever because 1. I got to stop in Lyon the night before and sleepover with my first companion SOEUR GOOLD and 2. Because we got to hang out in Annecy for 4 hours.
When I saw my cute cute Soeur Goold I just ran into her arms and we completely embraced. It was the strangest thing seeing someone I spent 24 hours a day every day with for 6 weeks... and then not see her for 6 weeks... and then seeing her again. Ah! It was bizarre. We all slept over in Lyon and stayed up chatting and laughing and catching up for hours. I loved to see how much Soeur Goold has grown over these past few weeks.
SOEUR GOOLD!
We have both learned so much and realized how different the field was from the MTC. Our testimonies have both deepened so much and we've become more tough. I didn't even realize how much I loved Soeur Goold until I saw her again. She is an amazing person and I am so lucky to have her as my first companion and friend. It was so fun to talk with her because we are both going through very similar situations right now with being new. We talked about feeling so out of french conversations, fear of contacting, both sharing 1 Nephi 11:17 with every ami, how much we love the French people and want so badly to communicate with them, becoming more obedient, etc. Just such a joy to catch up with that lovely girl.
Annecy is the most beautiful ville I have ever seen. It is only 25 minutes outside of Geneva. When we arrived, it was pouring rain and very gloomy... my favorite. We walked around the park that has the mystical lake and swiss alps surrounding it. We also went into Vieux Annecy which was quite charming. A beautiful old canal, colorful homes, ivy crawling on the walls, outdoor cafés lining the canal. We had lots of fun strolling down the tiny roads of Vieux Annecy in the pouring rain. It was actually freezing cold and Soeur Holmgren was wearing SANDALS. Hahahah everyone was just staring at her. Her feet turned all red and swollen and numb.
I am discovering more and more how the Lord really does prepare people to hear the gospel. Before my mission, I heard that, and I was kind of like, "Ok, yeah yeah." But now that I'm here, I realize that the people who are ready to hear the gospel, have been getting ready to hear it before I came (even if they didn't know it). Let me tell you how I discovered this. In my first couple weeks here in Nice, I'd say to Soeur Holmgren, "Ugh, if only we could get their number, schedule a rendez-vous with them, come over to their house, and teach them the gospel, they'd feel they spirit and WANT to join our church."
Well- turns out, there have been some REALLY nice people I have met. Who HAVE invited us over to their house and we HAVE taught them and they DID feel the spirit. But, they chose not to meet with us again. Why? Because they are not ready to hear the gospel. That is why it is so vital to pray to find and search for the people who are ready. I am on a mission to find those people who are prepared and ready to accept the message of the restored gospel. It is really hard sometimes to let ami's go that are not ready for the gospel. But sometimes we need to in order to find those who are ready.
I experienced a miracle on the train home from Annecy this week. It was a 5 hour train ride so I tried to sleep. But every time I would lay my head down and close my eyes, I just couldn't sleep. And let me tell you- as a missionary- it's real easy to fall asleep just about anywhere because you are so tired always. But I just couldn't fall asleep. I sat there for a while just thinking. The train stopped and I asked the man across from me if he knew where we were (Nous sommes ou?). Ended up that he spoke English (hallelujah for me because my comp was asleep next to me). We talked for about 30 minutes. His name is Quintin and he is 22 years old and from Nice. (Apparently he played basketball professionally for Antibes but now is in the military.) We spoke about religion and why the message I share with people has made me the happiest person in the world. And for the first time on my mission- it felt like I was Abby Jones being a missionary and sharing my real feelings and testifying with my sincere heart. I felt like myself! He told me how when he went to catholic churches when he was little, he felt scared. And I said, "come to our church this Sunday, It will make you feel happy. And if you don't like it, you don't have to come back again. But give it a chance." For some reason- my words came out so bold. But bold with love. Like no sugar coat. Just come to church. He agreed. I also felt like I should give him a Book of Mormon. Which at first I thought, no... I want to ease him into this religion. But then I gave him it anyway and explained how the book has changed my life and made me happy. When I set it on the table, he was a little unsure and then silent for a second. He placed his hand over his heart. He said, "My heart is beating right now because of this book. I don't know why. It's kind of freaking me out. " And I said that is the spirt of God you are feeling (trying not to just explode and burst out in squeals of joy and excitement.
Passing By Marseille
So I didn't really expect him to come to church because so often people bail. But we called him and HE SHOWED UP AT CHURCH. He was able to stay for sacrament meeting and Soeur Holmgren even gave a talk about faith. I asked him after church if he felt scared during the meeting and he said, "no, I felt a good feeling." After sacrament, he said one hour was good enough for today so he could soak it all in. (Which is totally understandable). But before he left, he looked at me and said, "the real reason why I came in the first place... is cause... well, you know, I don't believe in God or any of that stuff. But, on the train, I felt like you were a good person. I felt that from you."
It was amazing to see that even if people don't at first agree with or believe what we have to tell them, just by being who we are and being a good example has an impact on them. So my message to you is to be an example of the believers. We are different yes. Maybe even peculiar to the world. But people notice it. We must never let that light die because we want to fit in with the world or be popular. People can FEEL the light of Christ. I am not sure if he will continue to meet with us, but it was a miracle. It was a miracle to share the gospel and to help him feel the spirit and feel that God loves him.
District Meeting:
Spaghetti at Claude's house. With Elton, or DMP and Mark Antion. Elton brought his guitar. We wang hymns and it really brought the spirit!
This week I learned another good lesson. We went to visit this woman who we found in the area book from forever ago. When we walked in her apartment it was just a wreck. She is a hoarder so things were staked everywhere, the dishes piled up and up and up, no where to sit, empty toothpaste and shampoo bottles on the counters. Just wild. She was very sick, her hair unkept, and quite frankly, a bit crazy. We didn't even end up teaching her anything or praying with her because she didn't want to. And I kind of just wanted to get out of there. But as we were awkwardly standing there in her kitchen door frame, watching her peel clementines, I feeling came over me. I looked at her and thought, "God loves her JUST as much as he loves me." Wow. My face expression changed and I was filled with so much love and compassion for this woman. Then I had another thought come to me, "Jesus Christ suffered every detail of pain (mental and physical, hoarding addiction, sense of loneliness, insanity) that this woman is suffering. And then everything in me changed and I felt so much gratitude for Jesus Christ and empathy for this lonely, crazy woman living in a random corner of Nice.
I am so grateful for my savior. For his ability to weep and empathize with us. To feel every detail of the hard things we go through. I am amazed with his capacity to love. I TRULY stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me.
Love, Soeur Jones
This is Soeur Carbonne. We visit her every week. She is 96. This is her STANDING UP. And I am sitting sown and STILL taller than her. She feeds us ice cream chaque foi.
After we leave her apartment, she stands on her balcony and we her "YOOOOO HOOO" (imagaine Grandma Gayle's voice) and she waves her arms and calls to us and smiles and waves goodbye.
Funnies: Elder Zhu had a birthday last week. He always tells us (the sisters) that all we eat is salad. And he has the funniest Chinese accent so it's hilarious. Whenever we are going to eat a piece of bread, or a cookie, or a cracker, he stops us and says, "you cannot eat that, you can only eat salad." (He has the best poker face even when everyone else is laughing). So anyway, for his birthday, we got him salad and just dumped it in a brown paper sack. Before we gave it to him he said, "I hope it is salad." And when he opened it, his poker face cracked and he laughed so hard.
VIDEOS:
Train Ride home from Annecy
Soeur Jones and Soeur Holmgren in Annecy
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