Yesterday we went and ate lunch with a family in Liege 1. They have a very interesting story. The children are active, but the parents are not. The mother was explaining why and it just came down to laziness. She said she had been to a baptism recently where having a testimony was kind of like having those wind-up flashlights. She said she simply hasn't been winding up her flashlight, or fanning the flame of her faith, and she doesn't really want to. It's more comfortable to sleep-in etc. Her and her husband just enjoy the house to themselvesSunday mornings while their children go to church. It's a pretty interesting situation. They are a very rich family and have all the material comforts you could ever want, but I definitely felt there was something missing... I was so impressed with the son Pierre-Arnaud. Three months ago he just decided that he wanted to serve a mission and then started to come back to church. His parents are supportive, but also not really. I'm just really impressed with him. There are a couple Mormon messages that this situation reminded me of. We as human beings need daily nourishment, and the same thing goes for our spirits. We need to commune with God daily and nourish our relationship with Him. Otherwise we starve spiritually and look for spiritual "food" elsewhere. Here are the links:
This week was really good. I was in some district-worthy rendez-vous this week. The kind of lessons you just read about in Preach My Gospel or watch on The District. It's cool that this is actually real life!
We did an exchange with the Sister Training Leaders and I got to go to Brussels with Sr Bracken. We taught Maria and Filipe...Wow... it was one of the most beautiful experiences, I really feel so blessed to be a part of this work. The wife Maria has known about the church for a few years, but only a few days before my exchange Filipe, her husband, decided to start listening. We taught about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. Filipe was very attentive, but I thought maybe he wasn't getting it. But then at the end I asked if he had any questions, and he said no. But he did have something he wanted to say. He said that it was really a great pleasure listening to us and the he just had the most special feeling during the whole lesson...we told them about the temple and how after they are baptized they can get married for eternity there. They were thrilled! They love eachother so much. That house was just overflowing with love and with the Spirit. Filipe walked us out and he said again, during the whole lesson he just felt great. And even when he didn't understand, he just had a burning feeling in his heart.. It is amazing how eager God is to talk to us. All it takes is humility and an open heart...aka Filipe. It was a beautiful moment that I will never forget.
Then on Thursday morning we stopped by Gigh's apartment (she is the girl from Rwanda who just showed up at the church last week). She. is. awesome. We found out that she is a model and that she met the King and Queen of Belgium last weekend!! So cool. But that's not why she is so awesome... We had an incredible lesson with her. You could feel the spirit there so strongly, really so tangible. She told us about how she had a near-death experience. Back in Africa, apparently people poison children all the time. She was poisoned once, and was taken to the hospital where she died. The things she described were really incredible...the veil just felt really thin for awhile during that rendez-vous... Everyone-- God is really there and he loves us so much! Don't ever give up on Him. Anyways she literally skipped with joy back into her apartment when we left. She came to institute the next night and immediately fit in. She was getting some serious spiritual food... She is so legit! Can't wait to see her this week.
Then Saturday night we went to Vicky's house for her daughter's 7th birthday party. It was seriously a blast. We ate some delicious African food, except for foo-foo (not delicious). There were at least 20 adorable little kids there. So fun. I really felt like I was in the Congo for a few hours there. (See the attached pictures).
Well, that's how Liege is going right now. Oh and also, yesterday we were talking to the young women and I found out one of them is named "Lorraine." That's right everyone there are two "Lorraine"s in Liege. I need to get a picture with her for sure.
Also I love this video. It's exactly what I tell all of our amis, "don't take our word for it, go directly to the source, the origin of all truth."
Love you all,
Sr Hilton
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