Week 21 "Bonne Année 2017"

Abby Skype Call on Christmas Day speaking French with Jamison

Bonne Année! Happy New Year! I am so excited this next year is 2017 because 17 is the lucky number of the JONES fam!!!

This week had ups and downs. Luckily I got over my sickness after one day. But sadly, Soeur Allen stayed sick for another 3 days. SO... all day Monday, Friday, and Saturday we stayed inside and I let her sleep. I am such a busy body and couldn't just sit all day... So I made a giant quiche, a chocolate cake, some other meals, and mopped,
scrubbed, vacuumed the apartment for hours. It was actually pretty fun because I like to clean. Also, it was Soeur Allen's birthday on Friday. I felt so bad because she was sick and threw up all day. We went to Sarah Shimales' apartment at the end of the night to eat the cake I made. But NOT the best way to spend a birthday.

This week we worked really hard on the days we were able to go out so that felt really good. We don't have a lot of ami's but we are working hard and talking to a lot of people on the street to try and find new ami's. ALSO our ami, Alexis gets back from Corsica this week so hopefully we can really work with him again. Sometimes it is so easy for me to compare the results of my efforts to other missionaries results. I feel like I am working hard and we DO see miracles. But I want SO badly to teach people and help people. And sometimes I see other missionaries here that are teaching so many people and watching their ami's progress, and it is really easy to compare myself. But I just think of Uchtdorf in my head and say STOP IT. STOPPPP comparing yourself. And truly, comparison is the thief of joy. So I am just going to work hard and do my best.

I love the Nice ward so much. I know I say that every week. But truly, these members here have changed my life. They are generous, humble, and hilarious also. Every week I go to church I just laugh my head off because Felix will just start doing his jig in the foyer. Or when Felix forgot his teeth at church so he looked like a pirate. This week we also had a party with our ward for the new year. Everyone was dancing all crazy including the bishop and all the other members. It
was a lot of fun to hear a little bit of real music and dance with the members. Also, a member brought "escargot de la mer" (snail from the sea) which is different than normal escargot. I pulled it out of the shell and it was literally so long and twisty and jiggly. I decided to be brave and try a bite but then when I bit in there was a "crunch" in my mouth and my eyes got really wide and I ran outside and spit it up.
The Tahitians were all laughing so hard.

For the actual "12:00" of New Year, Soeur Allen and I set our alarm for 11:59. we woke up heard a bunch of screaming and fireworks. I just yelled out the window really loud, HAPPY NEW YEARRRR in a yodeling voice kind of like Grandma Gayle. And then we just went back to sleep. We forgot to do this, but it is a French tradition to throw something old out the window. So other people threw potatoes and old carrots out the window. So that is pretty fun.

Yesterday to celebrate the new year, Soeur Aslan invited us over to her house and a ton of other members and ami's of missionaries came. The meal lasted about 5 hours because a new dish would come out about every hour. And we also played "trivia" IN FRENCH. So I am not all that great at trivia let alone when it is in French so let's just say our team of missionaries did not win the game. We had chocolate fondue for dessert!!! This ward is a family. I love it!

I am happy. I feel like I am happy because I am working hard and trying. Some days I really feel like I just can't do it, but then I try. And when we try, we see miracles. This next year of 2017 is going to be a year I will never forget because it is an entire year in the mission field. As I reflected on my year of 2016... I was able to see how much I have grown this past year and all of the incredible blessings I have received. I know this next year holds so many more experiences. I am grateful to be a missionary even though it is a lot of work- mentally, spiritually, and physically exhausting. But it is also the best decision I have ever made to come out on a mission. I have never done something so hard. But I have never felt more joy and more assurance in my heart that THIS is truly where I am supposed to be right now in my life. This year of 2017 I am going to work hard, love the people here, and be present. Because I hit 5 months of my mission tomorrow. Which means I am about 1/3 the way through. That is insane.

I love you family so much. Thank you for being my rock and for making me so happy.

Love, Soeur Jones

PDAY PHOTOS