Lovelovelo
dearest famille,yes I just titled my email the lyrics of a lady gaga song. BUT it has to do with missionary work. Not really. Just a song I sing randomly because we want the members love!! No; I do NOT sing this to them. That would be super weird. Haha. So first off, the members love us!! Or at least theyre getting there! Seriously, folks. things are a`changin! Soeur bertolio says shes never seen them be so giving since she has been here, which was just one transfer more then me, but still! Ill start kind of backward, which would be starting with yesterday. here we go:
Yesterday we were walking to church, mindin` my own business..jk. lol. (which movie!) no, but really, we were walking to church and a family stops and opens the door and just gives us a ride! then we get there, give out some thank you cards to people, then this really nice Thai woman in the ward and I begin talking in french/english because she knew english before french, and she tells me she has bread for us that she made! so we get some really good bread with bananas (NOT banana bread. har har har...) and then this one woman who is partially inactive was at church, the one that gave us 1/2 a CAKE to eat, we had given her a thank you card and she was sitting behind me during sacrament (its relief society, sunday school, then sacrament! so weird.) and all of a sudden this large arm has a hold of me and Im being kissed on my cheek, slobbery kiss, by the lady, twice! then she said, merci, merci beaucoup pour le card!! and then kissed soeur bertolio on the cheek only once and she was warned before hand. I was like, what the heck just happened??? lol. she gave us some eggrolls that the leangs had given her (she had a LOT so she gave us half), then someone had a garden with zuchinis and they let us chose one and they are HUGE. Like little kid baseball bat huge. haha. ridiculous. Then we stayed for a bit longer after church and talked to everyone and all the nonmembers that came (we had three families invite nonmember families to church!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is seriously HUGE. whole families!! AHHHH!!!!) and then we talked to the youth and then Jessica Barbaroux (the oldest daughter of the family that i love) offered to give us a ride home! She is sooo nice and happy all the time! Its crazy. I love her! So we gave been making cookies and cards for members for anything that they do or if they need a boost or anything for a reason to show our love. Its crazy how much thats making a difference, and its literally been a week. crrrrrrrraaaazzzy!! President Roney said at zone conference, "expect miracles", so thats what we are doing. its so great!!!!!!
So this week we went to visit this woman, Maria, who we met because her son said the family might be interested but to talk to the parents, so we went over there a week later, her husband said we had to talk to his wife because she was in charge (haha), so we went over a few weeks later and she had to go to work so we gave her the family:a proclamation to the world and then we went to see her on Friday after 4! we talked to her and asked if she read the brochure, and she said she had and that she really liked it, and started telling us about her family and she has 4 children and she really cares about them and always tells them that family is most important and to always be kind to each other. We were just like, yesssssssssss!!!!! so she said for us to come back sunday afternoon and we were super stoked. unfortunately that is waaay too vague. afternoon. So we show up and she isnt there, so we go back at around 8:20 and her husband is there and said that she had waited around for us but had to leave so to try back tomorrow (today). So we are going over at 5 today! preparation day or not, this woman needs our message!! And we feel sooo bad that we didnt go earlier cause she had been waiting for us!!!!!!!!!! egh. worst feeling ever. so today!!! I am stoked!! we may make her cookies because we feel so bad.
Okay! Wednesday I saw a guy riding a vespa with a big helmet that goes across your chin, and he was smoking. hahaha. This day soeur bertolio told me a lame but I think funny joke: "In a plane, this man said he could tell where they were by sticking his hand out the window (yeah, doesnt technically make sense but go with it). So! he sticks his hand out and says "we are in England!" "how do you know?" "because I touched the big ben" then later, he sticks his hand out and says "we are in france!" "how do you know?" "because I touched the eiffel tower" Then laterrrr, he sticks his hand out and says "we are in Italy!" "how do you know?" "because someone stole my watch!" hahaha.
Thursday we had district meeting! and we also had a baptism! well, the elders in Tarbe had a baptism, but they come to Pau because we have the baptismal fount closest. Brother Johnston, the husband in our senior couple, brought his new classic guitar, and he let me play!!!!!! Oh. It was wonderful. Later on in the day we also taught David, a guy we met in the same apartment complex as Steven (another investigator who wont stop smoking and now wont return our calls but his mom wants us to help him). We gave him a brief overview of our religion and he said he was interested and he knows that God answers prayers because he has prayed to him before. Then he told us his brother was looking at the Book of Mormon that we gave him and is interested in learning more too!! and we met him and talked to him a bit, so we hopefully will be teaching both of them this week!!
Friday we taught the African family the plan of salvation, and they really liked it! but then at the end of the lesson we mentioned the Book of Mormon and the husband was like, we`re catholic, blah blah blah and we were like, yeah.. soo.. but they came to church because the Barbaroux`invited them and they also invited them to their home this week so we can eat then have another lesson!! I love the barbaroux!! They are just so kind and nice.
"Be the member you wish you had on your mission", I think Frère LePretre said that? Whoever said it, it rings true!! Mom, Dad, Ant, Ben, Nate!! Everyone else reading this who served a mission!!!! Members help SO MUCH!! Yeah, we can do missionary work without the members, but we are much less effective if we dont have their help!! EVERY MEMBER A MISSIONARY!!!! A prophet said that. In preach my gospel, at the end of the first chapter, "my purpose", there are a bunch of quotes from prophets about missionary work and they all apply to MEMBERS AND missionaries alike!! I commit all of you to read these quotes. They are so great. I hope that youre giving cordinees to the missionaries to search out these families or friends of yours that might be interested in the gospel and having eternal life. No big deal or anything. BE a missionary!!!
Okie dokie. Well, I think that I`m done standing on my soapbox, but only until 5, then I`m back on. haha. I love you all sooooo much and I know that this gospel is true!! There are miracles that are ready to happen, you just need to get the ball rolling!! Help out the missionaries! Teach lessons with them! Give them friends of yours that might be interested in the gospel! Mom, Yolanda! She just had her husband die! Perfect timing! that sounds bad, but you know what I mean. The Plan of Salvation! The Plan of Happiness!! How incredible is it?? Through this plan we are able to not only return to our Father in Heaven but be with our families forever!! I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we are given this plan, and all we have to do is come to unto Christ. I am so blessed to have the Gospel in my life and for the opportunity for me to serve the Lord. It is so hard sometimes but so worth it!! I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and another Testament of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and that He loves all of His children, even those far from Him. I LOVE this Gospel and invite everyone who is reading this to pray for the opportunity to recieve the testimony that the things written in this book are true, also!! It is incredible to know the truth and to know that the fulness of the Gospel is restored to the Earth today. EVERYONE needs the Gospel in their lives, some just need to prepare to recieve it.
I love you!!!!!!!! And letters!!!!!! oh, and photos!! haha
love you all sooo much it hurts sometimes,
devano
-soeur gardner-
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