Week 13 "Flan Flan and Monaco"

Visiting Monaco to see a Member (Monte Carlo)

MONACO!!

So let's start with the funnies this week with the Flan Challenge.
We had district meeting at our chapel the other day. We ate cereal for lunch in the chapel kitchen from whatever hallow dish we could find. Some people were eating out of rice cookers, others out of small vases. HA! We may be missionaries, but we are still just 20 year old children. After "lunch" we did the flan challenge. (You're not a
real French missionary until you attempt the flan challange.) This is where you get a package of flan, dump it on a plate, and suck it up and swallow it in one gulp. So the newest blue in our mission, Elder Rueben attempted the flan challenge. He was very confident going into it that "ahh it's real simple, you just slurp it up and swallow it." So he goes for it, dives into the flan, sucks it into his mouth, and stands up straight as a pole. We all thought he got the flan down so we start clapping for him. Then all of the sudden, his eyeballs bulged
out like a frog, his tongue shot out, and the chunks of flan just
LEAPED from his mouth. Like a FOUNTAIN. Jiggly flan was all over the table. Elder Zhu, Elder Carlson, Elder Hansen, and I all just sprinted out of the room. I have never heard people laugh so hard in my entire life. Elder Zhu sounded like a 7 year old girl just running frantically through the halls of the church. Elder Carlson was rolling on the ground like a potato bug. And I just seriously couldn't even breath. AHHAHAHAHAH. I laugh every time I think about this moment.

Second funny thing is that we went to lunch with our ami, "Q", this week... and a pigeon landed IN HIS SALAD BOWL. It just sat in his bowl flapping around. Everyone was staring at us, laughing. It was pretty gross... but also hilarious.

Fancy Stores in Monte Carlo

This week we went to MONACO to visit the Concha family in our ward. We walked around Monte-Carlo and boyyyyyy was it fancy. Let's just say, if you go to Monte-Carlo, you need to wear expensive fur, chic black boots, and drive a shiner expensive car. In order to enter the Monte-Carlo casino, you need to be dressed in a dress and suit/ tie. Woot woot! It was really cool though, because they Concha family lives in Monaco. They are from the Philippines and don't have a lot. But they are centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ and don't let all the STUFF that doesn't matter into their lives. They are SO HAPPY. How can people have so little, yet be so happy? It is an amazing lesson I am learning on my mission.

Concha Family from the Philippines. They ordered those yummy rolls from the Philippines with sweet cheese and sugar.

Walking from the Concha families house with the Dad, Gill

This week was full of so many miracles. Our newest ami, "Q" is progressing so well. I cannot begin to explain or write down the joy I felt as we had our first real rdv with him this week. We have only been able to talk to him over the phone since he was in Orleans. So it was so nice to have a REAL lesson with him. Elon brought his guitar and the spirit was so strong as we sang "Sweet Hour of Prayer" in French on the grass of Massena Park. As we taught him, he asked so many questions. He doesn't know the path he is supposed to go right now and just wants to be happy in life. We taught him how God loves him so much and has a plan for him. How he can become better every day and feel free from old mistakes, because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. It was so simple, and so powerful. At the end of the lesson we taught him how to pray and asked him if he would pray out loud right then and there. He said yes, I will try. It was the sweetest prayer. He thanked Heavenly Father for being able to meet with the Sister Missionaries and asked God to help him take the right path. My heart was so completely overfilled with joy to hear him pray. I was just smiling and fighting back tears the whole prayer. We literally hand-fived him after he said amen. And were like "YES! Good job !!!" AHHH my heart is full of joy. It was such a different type of joy from like waking up on Christmas morning, or going to Disneyland, or eating my favorite food mazethera... This joy was SO
DEEP. It literally filled me.
"Q" is gone on the week days because he is in military training. So it will be a little tricky because he can only meet Saturday and Sunday. But GOOD because he can come to church, and WANTS to. He is progressing little by little and that is enough. Before, he didn't even believe in God, so is incredible to watch his faith grow.

This week has been really hard for the Nice ward. Our sweet Violetta had a stroke and is completely paralyzed on her left side of her body now. Someone in our ward went to go stop by her house because she hadn't been answering anyone's calls or coming to church. They found her house a complete disaster and she was laying on the bathroom floor. It was seriously the biggest miracle that someone followed the
spirit and checked to see if she was at her house. Because they were able to get her to the hospital in time. This ward is incredible. They all treat each other just like family. We spent all Friday night cleaning her apartment. And all these members came to help without even thinking anything of it.

They take such good care of each other and are supportive.
Something I love about the Mormon church is the many friends and family you can have from your ward. If you moved here to France and didn't know a single soul... you could go to church Sunday and immediately have so many new friends. No matter what you look like, or how weird you are, they embrace and love you. That's how it is here.
That is how is it in my ward back home. I feel so blessed to be a
Mormon!

Love, Soeur Jones

Pday Pictures