A missed bus, a roller skating race, and two miracles

The sun is out in Rennes!  For the last few days everyone has been "profiter-ing"  from the wonderful weather.  I love that phrase in French.  Est-ce que vous profitez bien de le soleil?  Literally meaning, Are you profiting well from the sun?  Love it.  Everyone says it :)

Well, in answer to that question.. yes!  The sun has made all the difference.  I'm finally getting over the jet-lag, understanding more French and seeing miracles here in Rennes... The last few days have been dream:)

Yesterday was quite the adventure.  A bit crazy, but the coolest things happened.  I had just gotten back from my first exchange (which lasted from Friday night to Saturday night).  It was with my Sister Training leader Sister Roney.  She is an amazing missionary-so experienced.  Also, she talks to everyone!  We did a lot of contacting and had some very special experiences (teaching and praying with people in the street).  So Sunday morning I was all fired up ready to talk to people. We got to the bus stop right when the bus was supposed to come, but it wasn't there!  It must have been at least three or more minutes early.. I have my suspicions though.  The bus probably never even existed.  There are hardly any buses on Sundays so we had to walk to the Metro and wait a good half hour at Republique for another bus.  But we missed that bus for a reason... and her name was Marie.  I started to talk to her at the bus stop and she was hesitant at first, but it was the best contact we've ever had.  We even went past our bus stop to talk to her longer.  She's ready for the gospel:)

Then we had five amis at church...wonderful.

After church we headed over to the Delacourts to give Claire some banana bread we made her for French Mother's Day.  BUT there was a giant roller skating race downtown so the buses were all messed up.  Our bus was right at the corner and we were so proud that we were on time.  It felt like slow motion as the bus turned right instead of coming straight to get us!  So we had to walk twenty minutes to the Delacourts.  The weather was amazing though, we got to watch a bit of the race AND another miracle occured.  We were just blissfully walking down the rue when we ran into Fatima (a muslim woman we found while porting and taught her a lesson) and her family!  We wanted to continue teaching her, but for muslims you have to ask Presidents permission.  He said we could only if we got her husband's permission.  We didn't know how we could possibly arrange a metting with him.  But there he was!  On the street we were planning on whizzing through on a bus...of course he said yes when we asked if we could teach his wife:)

Then we going to just drop off the banana bread on the Delacourts porch..because we were pressed for time.  But I really felt like we should ring the bell and hand it to her.  Her son Sylvan answered and yelled up to his mom, C'est les Soeurs Mormons! haha.  She came down and we wished her a happy Fete des Meres and said she was our mother here in France.  She started to cry and thank us.  We love her so much!  I can tell that she was really touched, and we were both pretty surprised by her reaction.  Soeur Kohlert said that we are probably a bigger deal to her than we realize...

I just really felt like yesterday, in small ways, I was able to be used by God to touch the lives of others.  It wasn't me, it wasn't soeur Kohlert, it was a loving Heavenly Father who guided us to the right people yesterday.  Nothing went according to our plans... there was obviously a different plan for May 26, 2013 for God's children in Rennes, France.  Great day...

And then we had our DMP meeting in a GORGEOUS jardin in the middle of Rennes.  Soeur Kohlert didn't even know it existed.  It is apparently one of the most renowned parks in France.  It will be a perfect place to pass a p-day or go contacting.  There's an Orangerie and a huge cage with lots of parakeets and other birds in it.  There were so many people out enjoying the weather.  It was a fairytale...

Well loads of other things happened this week, but I'm out of time!  I love you all and the church is true!

Rennes, Bretagne

Greetings from Brittany!  So, I arrived in France and now I really feel like a missionary.  This is the real deal.  Everyone speaks French, I carry a Book of Mormon around with me, I've given up on my hair (there are just more important things), and I'm pretty sure I'm already losing my ability to speak English... yep, it is all very real, haha.

I guess I'll fill you all in on the past week.  Hmm, I can't believe that it was only a week ago I was in the United States.. woah.  That doesn't seem possible, haha.  We had quite the adventure getting over to France with FORTY missionaries!  I sat next to a very nice Muslim lady on the airplane.  Her best friend is actually a Mormon.  Anyway, she was interested in missionaries etc.  She thought that I wasn't allowed to get married, I reassured her that I could after my mission.  She replied, <<Oh good, I find husband for you.>> haha.  I think a lot of people think I'm a nun.  A morcocan man asked me where my headress was the other day when I was on the metro, <<Aren't you a bonne soeur?>>(nun).  I said I was only a missionary temporarily, then he wanted me to come hang out... haha.  This missionary thing is fun.

When we got into Paris, something extremely sad happened.  Elder Ganjanakrit wasn't able to get into the country!  The MTC let him come over here without a visa!  They actually ended up sending him back to Thailand.  My district and I were all pretty torn up about it.  He was our absolute favorite and he was so ready..hopefully he can get back out here soon:(

So, we got off the airplane and the assistants gave us each a copy of the Book of Mormon to try to give out on the train to the church in Paris.  First I talked to a man from Southern France.  His accent was slow so I could understand him:)  He wasn't interested but I had a nice time chatting with him.  I ended up giving it to a woman from the Congo, I think.  I failed to get her number (rookie mistake, I know), but she seemed interested, hopefully she will read it.

Then we endured hours of meetings and walking to the hotel.  The next day we got our assignments.  I still can't believe how big our group was!  They opened, oh probably 10 new areas for us!  Wow.  I was the first assigned (they had us all sitting in the chapel and had the assignments, with a picture of the city, come up on the screen) and my companion is Soeur Kohlert.  I actually tutored her in the math lab!  What a coincidence.  She is only one transfer ahead of me.  Poor girl, she was really nervous to be a trainer, it is a major responsibility.  So basicallly we are both new and have to figure this out together, which is hard because I have jet lag, can't speak French very well, and I don't know anything about how it the mission field really works, let alone anything about the city.  But I'm learning fast and I'm trying to help Soeur Kohlert as much as possible :)  

The ward here in Rennes is AWESOME.  They have all been really nice to me.  They had a Beatles concert on Friday night.. it was really funny to hear these French men singing Beatles songs..loved it.  This last week we have been mainly trying to find people to teach... it's pretty intimidating to try and talk to people, but everytime I have they have been very nice!  Porting (tracting) is kind of fun too.  I've mainly just been trying to love everyone like the Savior does and think about how he would go about teaching the people of Rennes.  Well the work is going forward here!  We would greatly appreciate your prayers :)

Oh and Soeur Kohlert plays the violin too.  Every Sunday we practice with the choir and we are having a ward musical celebration next month!  Also St. Malo and Mont St. Michel are in our area...so we are definitely going to go there on our p-days :)  

There is a lot of bad in this world, I am so grateful for the gospel.  I just find myself wishing that people knew that they had a loving Heavenly Father and that this life has purpose... I hope I can help :)

Much love,

Soeur Hilton

Farewell to the MTC

I can't believe my time at the MTC is nearly over!  It feels like a year since I said goodbye to my family, but it also seems like I blinked and now it's over.  I have learned so much while being here at the MTC.  I've made some friendships that I'm certain will last a lifetime.  I've progressed so much with my French.  But most importantly, I've felt the love of the Savior and our Heavenly Father stronger than I've ever felt before.  They really are there, and they love us more than we can imagine.  It's a little startling/humbling.

 

So, we are no longer taking a bus/shuttle to the airport.  We are taking FrontRunner, I'm assuming this is due to the rather large number of missionaries here at the MTC.  That should be an adventure!  We are leaving two hours earlier though.  There are 40 of us in the group going to Paris...That's huge!  I've been told that we are staying in a hotel instead of the mission home.  Also there are rumors that we won't do any of the "first day" activities (like contacting) because they have to just interview all day.  We will see how it goes:)  I'm very excited to see who my trainer is and where in France I'll be sent to.  It may not even be France, maybe Belgium or Luxembourg, who knows?!  The suspense is killing me.

 

Sorry to be so brief this week!  But there is packing to do!  Au revoir mes amis!

 

99% of Baptisms come from 1% of the Missionaries

99% of Baptisms come from 1% of the Missionaries (not really, but you'll see my point in a minute)

 

Well, it's official.  My mission call to Paris wasn't some practical joke, I have in my possession travel plans for next Monday: 4:50 p.m. depart Salt Lake, 11:55 a.m. arrive in Charles De Gaulle Airport (Paris).  WOW!!  I just burst into tears when I read that, it's really happening....wait, what?  I'm going to Paris? Am I dreaming?  I'm excited that it's a direct flight, so awesome:)  There are 40 of us... so we won't be staying at the mission home the first night, but in a hotel in Paris, I believe.  Usually they have the new missionaries do some contacting when they arrive, but that probably won't happen for us. President has to interview all forty missionaries, and they would have to bring in 20 companionships to contact with us...bummer.  But i'll be doing missionary work for the next little while anyways ;) haha

 

This last week my district focused on the Christlike attribute of "Diligence."  We didn't want to blow off our second to last week.  We all worked really hard and spoke French as much as possible.  Saturday was the crowning moment of our diligence week.  We did an "English Fast."  We tried to speak nothing but French the whole day.  It was amazing, and I felt richly, richly blessed for my efforts.  So many tender mercies, especially as the day came to a close.  We got a new teacher this week, Frere Wilcox, and he gave the best lesson we've had here at the MTC.  For three hours he talked about what it meant to be a conscrated missionary.  Success in missionary work is a blessing predicated on obedience, not a consequence.  He pulled the stats when he was on his mission and he noticed that most of the baptisms came from just a handful of missionaries.  It's not as dramatic as my title makes it sound (I was just making a play off the Occupy Wallstreet slogan, haha).  He said most missionaries cluster right before the tipping point of great success.  He said it had to do with obedience and consecration.  If we would just give up the one or two things holding us back, every missionary can be a powerful instrument in God's hands.  It was such a good lesson.  Frere Mayne has also taught some pretty powerful lessons lately.  He encouraged us to pray for confirmation about each area we serve in.  If we feel, through the Spirit, that there are people in our area looking for the truth, then it won't matter how tired we are, or how many people turn us away, or how many blisters are on our feet, we will keep going until we "find those willing to recieve us."

 

This week, as a district, we are going to focus on the Christlike attribute of "Hope."  So for personal study this morning I read about hope in Preach My Gospel and read some scriptures about hope.  My favorite was Ether 12:4, which reads,

 

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."

 

Isn't that beautiful?  The world out there rages in storm, but hope will anchor our souls.  That doesn't mean that we will be taken out of the storm, but that we will be safe through it.  I like when it says with hope we can "with surety hope for a better world."  In my opinion, that doesn't just refer to heaven, or the world after this one, but it is also talking about right now.  We can achieve peace in this life, through the knowledge that there is One who knows us, understand us, and can comfort and save us.  There are many in this world, as it says in Preach My Gospel, who's "hands hang down hopelessly..."  I think that if I can just bring hope to people, I will have suceeded.  "Charity never faileth." I was pondering that today and had a thought.  Every missionary is worried whether they will be a sucess or a failure on their mission.  Charity NEVER faileth.  If we missionaries strive for charity above all, pleading for it in our prayers, then there is no way we can fail.  We are representatives of Jesus Christ--numbers don't matter, love matters.  If He were here serving this mission, He would just love and serve everyone, inviting them to follow His example.  That's what we are supposed to do.  That's what everyone, not just missionaries, should strive to do---then we really can hope for a better world.  We would already have a better world if we all tried to have Charity.  Okay, I've rambled long enough...There you have it, my missionary musings.  There are so few distractions here...there is just a lot of time to think:)

 

Alright friends, this is the final countdown!  I don't know if I'll be able to email next week, so my next correspondence may be coming from across the pond.

 

Love,

Soeur Hilton

Preseverance jusq'a la fin!

That means "Endurance to the end."  This topic has been on my mind recently.  It was the subject we were assigned to write our talks on yesterday.  Also, my companion and I taught the district meeting lesson yesterday on the Gospel of Christ (which includes enduring to the end).  I was all pumped about "jusq'a la fin" and then we were handed NEW schedules.  There are soo many missionaries here that now I'm assigned to eat breakfast at 6:30, lunch at 11:00 and dinner at 4:00.  Also, we only get half a P-day.  It's going to be rough, but there are only two weeks left!  Jusq'a La Fin!  I'm not just going to endure though, I want to make these the best two weeks yet.  The Christlike attribute that my district has decided to focus on this week is "Diligence."  Perfect, right?  Last week was "Humility", which was also perfect.  I've realized that I can't do this alone, but through faith and diligence the Lord will help us do all this.  This is the time to really really work hard, this is the final push!  The last third.  We have to be prepared to hit the ground running in France.  Which, by the way, is going to be a dream.  I can't wait...  I'll be able to "sleep in" until 6:30... and I'll be in France.  It's a fairytale, haha.

The speaker in Relief Society yesterday was Bonnie L. Oscarson, the brand new Young Women's General President.  This was her first official assignment.  Wow, she is an amazing woman.  She and her husband were called to open a new mission in Sweden when she was only...25 years old (and pregnant with her fourth child), he was only 29.  I couldn't believe it! That's only a few years older than me.  Woah.  She said that she felt bad for the incoming missionaries who got off the plane and were greeted by a couple of "kids." She gave a great talk about Jacob 5, yes the longest chapter in the Book of Mormon.  She said that it is one of her favorite allegories because it really demonstrates the love of God for his people.  He worked so hard to "save the tree."  God is there for us, no matter what.  "It grieveth me that I should lose this tree."  He will do anything to save us, even sacrifice His beloved Son.  The end of the chapter is a powerful prophesy of the final days of missionary work.  The last great effort to save the "vineyard" or the world. The laborers are few, but we will work with diligence to bring truth and joy to the earth.  Very cool talk.

This week Sister Cutler left.  She just graduated and moved to Salt Lake.  We all loved her so much and it was really hard to say goodbye!  Right before she left she told us about her first day in the mission field, and expressed her love for her mission.  I was very touched... I hope I can love the people in my mission as deeply as she did.  Apparently, according to all the RM's I've talked to, leaving the mission is heart-breaking.  But the greatest joy ever felt is in the mission field. 

We had a really great speaker for the devotional last night, his name was Steven B. Allen, the managing director of the missionary department.  He was really fun and interacted with the audience.  He asked questions like, "who here has gotten a dear John? Who got here this week? etc.  And had us stand up if the question was true for us.  The best moment of this entire week was when he asked, "Who here has a sibling at the MTC?"  I stood up and saw Evan a ways in front of me.  He said "Now point at them."  We just stood there, beaming, pointing at eachother in front of the entire MTC, (there weren't many people with siblings).  It was epic, I couldn't help tearing up a little.  I love love love having Evan here.  I'm so glad we are doing this together!

Other happy things include, the MISSIONARY FIELD, as in the sports field (It is the best part of the day, I love running around it with Sister Cameron, playing sand volleyball with my district and enjoying the beautiful weather), haha, and we have a new investigator, Marc.  Oh and I love the TRC.  This last week we taught this woman who knows the Wilson's!  She said she'd say hello to them.  I forgot her name though.  She was very excited to find out I was a Hilton.   

I would love to hear from all of you! 

An Apostolic Blessing

Bonjour my dear readers!  This week was really great.  I feel like I've hit my stride here in the MTC this week.  French is coming fast and easily, I feel the Spirit all the time, and I feel like our district is more united than ever.

This week started out better than any week.  Last Tuesday night Elder Richard G. Scott of the Twelve Apostles spoke to us.  It was an amazing discourse on prayer.  First of all, he started out saying, "I almost feel like I've died and gone to Heaven....there are so many sisters here!"  Apparently Elder Scott loves coming to the MTC, more than any other apostles.  He specifically asks to come speak to the missionaries as often as possible.  I think we could all feel his love and admiration.  He said, " I wish I could have a personal interview with each of you--listening, sharing, weeping, laughing...That is impractical, but there is one with whom we can have such an interview, whenever we'd like."  He was talking about our Father in Heaven, who loves and knows us perfectly.  His talk on prayer was the best I've ever heard.  I've really tried to make prayer more like an actual conversation.  And the end of his talk he gave us an "Apostolic Blessing."  He blessed us in learning our languages, that we can master them.  He also blessed us to overcome any companion difficulties. "God will hlep make the path smoother."  He also left us with a blessing of peace--our calls are inspired, we won't be asked to do what we can't.  He said we can master these languages as we work hard and ask God for help, desiring to be more effective servants.  He ended his talk by saying, "I know Jesus Christ lives, because I know Him."  Wow.  But it got even better.  After the closing hymn, a sister got up to give the closing prayer, but Elder Scott cut her off.  He came back to the pulpit and said, "Remember the Lord has called you to succeed, not to fail.  He will not abandon you.  He knows who you are and what you need.  This is an opportunity to discover things about yourself you never knew--capacity to love and serve, hidden talents etc....He will fit you to this work."  He must have really meant that to come up a second time!  I feel so blessed to be here at the MTC when this talk was given.  I was also in the Choir that day.  We sang Nearer My God to Thee (did you know that that song is the story of Jacob's ladder?  Very cool.)

Well, I've already seen this blessing work.  Our district has improved dramatically in the language this last week.  We PVL (Parlez Votre Langue--Speak your language) a lot and it is really helping!  Our district has made some very special goals recently and it has really united us.  We decided to pick a Christlike attribute to focus on each week.  Last week was charity and this week is humility.  We've really grown closer through this.  Another goal we made was to "have more fun." Haha I love hanging out with 18 and 19 year old boys!  They are hilarious.  We have these rolling desk chairs and the Elders love to "take a lap," which means rolling around our building in the chairs...very very mature I know. hahah  Also, our Elder from Thailand, Elder Ganjanakrit is great.  The other Elders are obessed with putting his name to music.  It goes surprizingly well with just about any song.  My favorites so far have been the dwarf song from the Hobbit, and "Praise to the Man." haha Elder Eldridge also like to put it to rap and other "gentile" music.  The Elders do many many more amusing things like that, but they'd be hard to explain.  Just know that they keep me well entertained!  Who needs music or movies?  Oh and speaking of movies, nothing is more fun than watching the Testaments with a bunch of missionaries.  It's funny because of all the awkward flirting/kissing in the movie.  Whenever one of the characters did something romantic or flirty, all the missionaries laughed awkwardly.....hahahaha.  I sat by Evan during it and we had a ball!

So every week all the missionaries in our branch have to prepare a talk and then the Branch presidency announces who is speaking in Sacrament meeting.  I had a feeling that it would be me, I don't know why.  So when they called my name I wasn't surprised at all.  I felt really good about my talk and wanted to share it, so I was happy to give it!  A lot of the missionaries in my district said they thought it would be me as well!  Weird no?  The topic was the Holy Ghost.  I had just read all of Joseph Smith History earlier in the week and was astonished at how Joseph Smith described when he received the gift of the Holy Ghost (JSH v. 74).  So I shared that story in my talk and everyone really liked it!  I think by the end of my mission I won't be nervous to speak anymore :)

This week we had our first chance to teach in the TRC.  I absolutely loved it!  These were real people, not just our teachers pretending to be investigators.  We were teaching people as themselves, and wow, I felt the Spirit really strongly.  Especially in our second lesson.  We taught this girl, a student at BYU, about faith.  I asked her about Elder Holland's talk from last conference, where he told the story of the man who had little faith, but Jesus still healed his son.  I bore my testimony that we don't have to know everything, in fact, only one person knows everything and that's God.  I said that we needed to hold onto the faith that we already have, remembering the times when we have felt the Spirit testify to us.  She is preparing to go on a study abroad to France, and she said she was scared about it, I testified that through faith comes power and courage.  Ether 12 is a wonderful chapter on faith, you should all read it.  Through faith we can do all things!

Okay, and last thing---I love having Evan here!!  It is the BEST.  He is going to be a great missionary.  I think I saw him about five times on Sunday.  When we watched Testaments together I felt like I was back at home:)  Oh and BYU men's chorus came for Sunday devotional.  I was able to talk to Tyler Mickelson and Phil Crepeau! So fun to see familiar faces:)  Actually I see a lot of people I know here.  Most of them are teachers, which makes all the other missionaries think I'm really old...hahaha.  I love it here.  I have 2,000 little brothers and sisters.

Three weeks from yesterday I will be on a plane to France.  This is going pretty fast!  Until next week!

Sister Tsunami

There is so much to tell!  I'm going to start with Sunday because that was the most important.

Sunday Morning I went to my first Relief Society Meeting at the MTC.  We started by singing, ¨As Sisters in Zion.¨  All of the older women turned around to face the missionaries, there were tears in their eyes.  They probably never thought they would see such a sight.  This generation will never, ever be forgotten.  I was priviledged to attend the largest Relief Society meeting ever held at the MTC.  These sisters are going to change the world.  The speaker, Sister Edmonds, was amazing!  She said this wasn´t a wave, it was a SISTER TSUNAMI.  She was the first lady missionary to serve in the Phillipines and has served numerous missions.  She said, ¨If we could send you all to the same mission, you´d have it ready for the millenium in a couple weeks!¨  She was so funny, but so powerful.  She talked about homesickness.  She showed us her 700 page journal from her first mission.  ¨I couldn´t have gone home, I hadn´t finished my journal,¨ she said.  With tears in her eyes, she said, ¨I can´t imagine heaven without the people I met and taught on my mission.¨  I can´t either, even though I´ve only been here two weeks.  I already am overwhelmed with gratitude to be here.

The MTC became holy ground for me on Sunday.  After the Relief Society meeting, the sisters and my district and I went into a piano room to play some music.  Sister Cameron started playing homeward bound, and Sister Lefrandt burst into tears.  This was the song she played right after her father died three years ago.  He is here with her, he is here with us.  There are angels supporting us and all the missionaries.  I can´t even tell you how sacred the next hour was as we bore our testimonies together.  Sister Smith, who never cries, said, with unrestrained tears,  ¨This is heaven for me.  Sister Cameron playing Homeward Bound, Sister Lefrandt reunited with her father, Sister Hilton with her family and dear, dear friends, and Sister Elliot with her whole family.¨  Just as Sister Edmonds said, I can´t imagine Heaven without these people.  I already love the people in France.  I pray for them every night.  I want them to have joy and peace and redemption. The rest of the day was amazing.  We had a great devotional about church media.  They are doing a breathtaking campaign in London.  It just started this week.  It will change that city.  To finish the day off we watch the Joseph Smith movie in French.  I loved it.  And I understood so much!  I am definitely being blessed to learn French quickly.

That was Sunday, now I´m going to backtrack and tell you about Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday...wow.  What a day.  My companion and I were teaching Christopher.  Right at the beginning of the lesson my companion threw her head back (to swish her hair or something), and she hit her head against the wall.  We continued the lesson and it was pretty good.  We introduced the concept of baptism, but Christopher had a lot of questions.  After the lesson my companion threw up and we went to the doctor.  Turns out she had given herself a concussion!  Can you believe it?!  Haha, what the heck?  So the next day I had to teach the whole lesson.  The original plan was to teach the Plan of Salvation, but I felt like I should just answer his questions from the previous lesson.  It.  was.  amazing.  We read some scriptures about baptism and I said to Christopher  ¨I know in our last meeting you said you wanted to be a good example to your daughter.  Christ has set the perfect example for us to follow.  You can set an example for your daughter by following him.¨ And then, although I hadn´t planned this, I extend the baptismal invitation.  I don´t know how to explain how I felt in that moment. The spirit was so so strong.  I felt Christ´s love for Christopher, for all of His children.  All of his doubts melted away and he agreed to be baptized!  I didn´t think we´d get that far, so it was kind of funny because I didn´t know what to say.  So I just kept saying what a great choice he had made and told him to read Mosiah 18.  I know that it wasn´t really an investigator, but Christopher is a real person that my teacher taught on his mission.  And the people I meet and teach will be very real.  I can´t stop thinking about the people of France.

Then on Friday we went to San Francisco!  It was so great to be there.  I just kept thinking of the wonderful day I spent there with my parents and Anna Joly!  We went to the French consulate, Pier 39, Gheridelli (I don´t know how to spell it, nor have time to look it up, haha) Square, and the Golden Gate bridge.  It was sort of a surreal experience though.  It was my first time in public as a missionary.  And let me tell you, the reactions you get are all over the place.  In Salt Lake we were spoiled.  Members took pictures of us and texted them to our families, paid for our pizza when we got stranded in the airport for 2 hours, and even an award winning choir from Washington (that was lead by members) sang us a song in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Also, an older couple, when they found out I went to BYU, said that their grandson went there and needed a wife.  So they took my picture, without asking, and somehow got my email address.  I said, ¨ Well he´d have to wait 18 months minus one week!¨  haha.  We got stares, people took pictures of us creepily, and a drunk man yelled at a few of the sisters.  But what surprized me the most was how open people were with us.  I sat by a lady on the plane ride home that told me all of her problems.  Many of the other missionaries had the same experience.  I guess people see our name tags and recognize us as ¨spiritual doctors¨ perhaps?  We have what this world needs... I can´t wait to share it.  One Elder talked to a French lady on the plane and he was so pumped the rest of the day!  When we got stranded in the airport (because they forgot to send someone to pick us up to come back to the MTC), instead of complaining he took off and said ¨I´m going to go do missionary work!¨  He even did a back flip.  It was pretty funny.

Well, I am really loving this whole missionary thing.  I´d just like to give a shoutout to Bruno and the Joly´s.  I got your email and I loved it!  I really appreciated the advice and wonderful mission stories.  I can hardly wait to see you.  I love you all so much!  Hopefully I´ll have time to write a letter to you soon, maybe this afternoon.  Also I got a postcard for Anna from San Francisco, I´ll send it ASAP.  Je vous aime beaucoup et j´adore le langue francais.  Especialement, apprendre l´Evanglie en francais.

Well, that´s it for this week.  I´d love to hear from anyone who cares to write!