My first day of work in Annecy was fit for a screenplay. It consisted of teaching a man garbed in American flags and British flag do-rag, talking a drunk woman down from committing suicide, dodging broken glass bottles, and me getting a fever that caused my nose to run like a faucet and my voice to sound like a chain smoker's through all of this. Missionary work will lead you to experience the strangest of things, and sometimes you have to step back and think, "God, did you do this to me on purpose?"
I am truly in love with this ville, our investigators, and our branch of 40 active members. My companion, Soeur Sovaleni, is magnificent (although sometimes my brain feels like it's going to melt from not being able to express any thoughts I'd like to say as eloquently as I'd like to).
I am praying that I'll finally get to settle down. Traveling is nice when you're young, but I'm getting too old for that. I'm dreaming of an Annecy Christmas. Speaking of, our investigator with a baptismal date is a young man from the Congo. His name? Christ. You think I'm kidding.
FACTS I LEARNED:
- I eat like a Tahitian, according to my colleague.
- The easiest way to share the gospel with the man sitting next to you in a train station is to offer him a cookie from your travel stash.
- If you give a Moroccan businessman a cookie... chances are he'll tell you his life story without you having to say anything. You're welcome, future missionaries.
- Porting (knocking on doors) in Annecy can also be considered as simultaneously house shopping for you and possible husband + kiddies...if you're into that kind of stuff....
- It is a bad idea to teach a guy with attention-deficit in a park. Why I didn't think of this before, I don't know.
One thing that my mission has truly helped me develop is a new perspective on other people. Today, we had a scheduled rendez-vous with a young man who was baptized several years ago who is less-active in the church. He is what you would call....how to I put this....a little obnoxious. He might have ADHD to give that personality a little more zest as well. Throughout our lesson, it was hard to keep his attention. After he refused to pray, he started grabbing my hands and writing on me (which I decoded as a form of European flirting) and telling me that he needs someone to read the Bible and play guitar with in the park every day. I never felt like I've wasted so much time with one person in my life. We sat there and testified and testified to only get these results. He told me at the end that I was really persistent about "all this."
You want to know why I was so persistent with him? Because he took upon him the name of Christ. He knew at one point in his life that these things were true. He knew that he is a son of God and that He loves and knows him personally. I'm persistent because I can see that in him. I can see that in a lot of people who deny it. It comes with being His representative. Missionaries are given an extra dose of patience and love because they need to see everyone as they can become. This boy noted that the missionaries weren't fazed by his behavior and still wanted to help. It's a real thing.
I am so grateful for the people I get to teach and those I meet contacting. Through their discouraging comments and rejections, my testimony still grows; because I can see that God still loves them. I hope that more members of the church, especially RMs, can keep these special lenses on. It's a defining quality that people DO notice.
I love you. I pray for you. Your support is, as always, appreciated :)
Sœur Green
P.S. This is an excerpt from the letter we just received from Danielle. I wanted to share it with everyone... Kim
"It's incredible how much I've seen and how much I've learned in such a short period of time. God is blessing me with a quick growth spurt. I can tell you that the mission wrings out every drop of faith you have.
Before my mission, I thought I had a solid testimony and a good understanding of gospel principles... But in hindsight, I wouldn't call what I had "real faith", because I never really had to exercise it. Now I know for myself what is truly the most important and what I should be working on each and every day. I'm so grateful to have this opportunity. I could never repay those who are supporting me financially to be here.
I have no idea how horrible my life would be if I hadn't have come here. Yes, horrible. I would be blind to so many of the blessings that God has given me. In other words, I would be stuck in ignorance that I'm not even aware of because I didn't have these experience to teach me."
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