Week 42 "Tahitian Love"



Fourviere, famous cathedral in Lyon

Beautiful Lyon


Hello! First week in Lyon. It is hot here. I am constantly wiping my neck with sweat. Our apartment is basically like a really fancy big hotel compared to my old one at Montpellier. We have a TOASTER (I dont have to warm up the oven for 30 minutes to make toast!)

My companion, Soeur Margrin, is the definition of love. She is exactly what you imagine when you think of a Tahitian full of love. Literally what President told me about her has proven to be true. Soeur Margin is my example missionary I want to be just like her. She works hard, she talks with everyone, she is happy, she is obedient (but not stressed out), she is positive, she is real, she finds the best in others and she loves food. I will tell you just a few experiences that show her love. We were walking down the road and I was telling her that she is the missionary I want to be like. And she stops me and says, "Awee vous êtes TROP CHOU (you are too cute)" and gives me a BIG fat SMOOCH on the cheek... right then and there in the road with people around us. HAhahahahahha. At our rdv this week with a member, she asks the woman, "Is there anything we can do for you?  Do you like massages? I am really good at face massages." And the woman goes, "uhhh yeah, sure!" And Soeur Margrin says, "okay, I need you to come over here and lay on my lap with a pillow." My eyes got super wide and I was just like, wait, she is serious. And the member just lies down and Soeur Margrin starts working her Tahitian magic and gives this member a facial massage after we shared our spiritual thought. It was dead silent and I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud.


Mom- yesterday was mothers day here in France. And because I am new to the Ecully ward, I got to bear my testimony to introduce myself. So I bore my testimony about the importance of mothers. And how I know that my role as a missionary is important, but my role as a mother is my most important calling in my life. I talked about you mom. I said that my mom and her example have influenced my life. How my mom is the patient, sensitive, positive, and has christ as her center. I bore testimony that children look up to and follow their mother's example.

This ward here is really amazing. I have only been here for a week and I can just tell. It is a little intimidating being in the same ward as the assistants. But then I realized they are literally just missionaries like I am. I know I am supposed to be here for a reason. I am not the same as any missionary. But I am me. And I know Heavenly Father needs me to be me.

There is an American family in our ward called the Zinn family. Apparently EVERY Sunday night the missionaries in our ward go there for Sunday dinner. We went there last night and ohhhh my gooodddness, it was so refreshing and also weird being surrounded by such American people. We ate meatloaf (with KETCHUP) and mashed potatoes and salad
all on the SAME PLATE. It was insane and so not French. 

I LOVED IT. Ha! I promise I love france but I also have realized I am definitely American. The elders shared a really good spiritual thought from the story of the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon. As we all sat around listening and feeling the spirit, I was reminded of the importance of raising a family in the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is meant for families. It heals families and makes them stronger. I am so grateful that I will raise my own future family centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am really excited for the work here in Ecully. Soeur Margrin and I are both so determined to share the gospel and be happy. A lot of missionaries talk with people because they "have to" or it is just "what they are supposed to do." But when I watch soeur Margin talk to people on the bus, she isn't totally stressed or robotic. She is just sharing the gospel because she loves it! And that is something we are both trying to do. Just always be aware of finding new people to
teach. I have talked to so many people this week and I am HAPPIER.

I have a testimony of following the spirit. Soeur Margin and I were waiting for a bus but it was late so we went to the bus stop across the street to see if it would come any sooner. There was a woman waiting at the bus stop that we both felt like we needed to talk to. Even though we needed to catch our bus, Soeur Margin just started talking to her.  "M" is from Portugal. She ended up telling us religion is really hard for her to accept because her husband is super catholic but has recently been disloyal to her. (Um yeah, that doesn't make sense!). Religious people shouldn't be like that. But we have the RESTORED gospel. And oh what a joy it is to share that message. We exchanged numbers and are going to teach her tonight.  This experience was a testimony to me that sometimes we just need to slow down a little and listen to the quiet promptings of the spirit.

Love, Abby

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