How I Learned to Love the 'O' Word

AHHH!!! Alas, I have been sent to a far away land once again. I am currently residing in the city of Annecy, a tiny village in the Swiss Alps by a beautiful lake that inspired the artists of "Beauty and the Beast" (this is actually true). 

It gets better... My new companion is a 29 year-old Tahitian that doesn't speak a lick of English. God did this to me so I can do exchanges in the Spanish ward in Geneva, Switzerland, I'm convinced. My French has already improved in the last 24 hours, but I must say that my neurons are burning out a lot quicker than they normally do...

Leaving Bordeaux was hard, but coming to Annecy made it easy to get over pretty quickly. 

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Getting left in a city all alone and having to ask strangers to use their phone so you can tell someone where you are is not as fun as you'd think it'd be.

• French people are extremely protective of their phones. You'd think I was a leper asking to cuddle with them......

• The things I say in English are funny. The things I say translated into French offend people.

• God blesses me too much. But, I won't ask Him questions.

Oh la. Optimism has been something that I struggle with for my entire existence. In fact, I used to cringe when people would say the word around me because I knew it was something that I should have but don't. 

Optimism. Why is it so easy to shrug that off? There's a scripture I love in 2 Nephi that I would give you the exact reference for if my English Book of Mormon was on me, but I'll summarize. It says something along the lines of being of good cheer because the Lord has and will continually bless you; it is your choice to accept the good things or focus on your trials. I have a strong testimony of this. 

What can all of you do to become more optimistic? What are some things we tend to focus on because it gives us an excuse to complain, when in reality we should be thanking the big guy upstairs for being patient with us until we notice how much He has blessed us? Consciously note the thoughts you have and things you say this week. replace the negative with the positive and see how beautiful your life already is.

I think the thing I will work on this week is patience haha. Always room for improvement. Sorry for cracking down on you folks. I love you comme même. I actually have been thinking more often about how many wonderful people I have back home supporting me in this. I love you and thank God for you every day. Thank you.

Sœur Green