How I Learned to Love Bridging the Gaps

Cool miracle week! The Elders in Annecy found a woman they want us to teach (because she has had bad experiences with men and they don't want to freak her out). She's from Algeria and no longer practices Islam. She's so timid and sweet. She's already come to several activities at the church. We also found a woman from the Congo that told us that she had a dream about meeting us the night before, which is about 90% probable. Africans have lots of "those dreams" :). Maria and the gang are going well. We finally got ALL the family members to join us. I can't wait to piece this eternal family together. Maria is so incredible. She's still preparing for the 11th. 

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Snails are actually quite delicious. Not to be cliché, but THEY TASTE LIKE CHICKEN.

• Gluten-free diets are great for the first week....and then it hits you that it's permanent.

• I have the worst sweet tooth known to man. It's a miracle I've never had a cavity. A miracle, folks.

I'm typing up a page from my study journal today. It's a messy jumble of ideas, but it's the message I'm offering you this almost New Year's Eve:

"I was reflecting a bit on my behavior an attitude as a first transfer and how that compares to now. After remembering many of my mistakes (and, naturally, seeing others mirror them), I noticed a pattern that most, if not all of us, seem to follow.

"One of the main sources that hinder us from making real progress is hinged on our capacity and humility to recognize a gap between what our words convey and is brought about by our actions. As a first transfer, I shared many opinions about how to work, how to treat others, how to do this aspect of missionary work, etc. But, it wasn't until recently that I noticed a gap that separated what I thought I believed and what I actually demonstrated.

"I believe that there is one important catalyst for personal growth that can truly be the hardest thing to accept, and that is to build a bridge that connects your thoughts to your actions, to RECOGNIZE an inconsistency and fix it, regardless of natural intentions. If I were to believe that I was as brave as Ghandi or as loving as Mother Teresa, why would I feel the need to work harder? Once I recognize consciously that there is something I must change, my actions will follow."

I ended my entry with a quote that I found shortly after:

"...There can be no success or happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do." -Freya Madeline Stark

C'est tout. I love you all. Even though it's been nine months, I still feel your love and support every day. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Sœur Green

Merry Christmas to all. The green juice is special sauce. Not guts.

Me and my new companion. Apparently there was another age change in France.

Strike of the week: "Ambulance drivers in anger". I'll try to be more careful from now on.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Aside from being astounded by how creative the title is, I have a message for you. 

Before I jump to all that, Update: The Romanian family is doing alright. There have been some road blocks like we predicted, but Maria, the grandmother, set to be baptized on January 11. We have started teaching quite a few new people as well. We found a man from Portugal, another man from Algeria, and A FRENCH WOMAN! Can you believe it? This is rare for all French missionaries. Christmas miracle.

Random shout-outs:  Mi madre because it's obvious how wonderful she is.  Ethan Martel, even though all your letters get sucked into a black hole and it's awkward when I have to email you that I don't get them.  Kacie Woodward, for being awesome.  You may or may not read this, but I've been thinking quite a bit about you lately.  Ash Ross, gurl drop me a line, wuddya?  All my grandparents, because you spoil me so.  All the members of the Harvest Hills 9th ward back when I was still actually going there.  You are wonderful people, ya know.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• My little cousin got engaged recently. I object, Krista. Whatchu be thinkin...

• The nurse of the mission has diagnosed me with a gluten intolerance because I may or may not have been hacking up my guts for the past six weeks. 

• Gluten-free diets are overrated.

• I'm starving...

• Bah, humbug. What's Christmas without a big glop of gluten on your plate...

• Okay, these aren't really facts anymore...

For personal study this past week, I've been centering my focus on Christ and the events surrounding His birth. Most of my reading was done in a hefty libro called "Jesus the Christ," and I've got some food for thought that you should partake of this Christmas season. Here is one of my favorite excerpts:

"And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

"Tidings of such import had never before been delivered by angel or received by man -- good tidings of great joy, given to but few and those among the humblest of earth, but destined to spread to all people. There is a sublime grandeur in the scene, as there is divine authorship in the message, and the climax is such as the mind of man could never have conceived-- the sudden appearance of the heavenly host, singing audibly to human ears the briefest, most consistent and truly complete of all the songs of peace ever attuned by mortal or spirit choir. WHAT A CONSUMMATION TO BE WISHED-- Peace on earth! But how can such come except through the maintenance of good will toward men? And through what means could glory to God in the highest be more effectively rendered?" (Talmage, 93-94).

As I read this, I was able to paint a mental image of something that, to the contrary, couldn't be completely finished. It is said to be something that "the mind of man could never have conceived," something of "sublime grandeur." Pretty classy, right? My favorite part comes in towards the end when Talmage exerts the importance of good will toward men. It leads to peace on earth. In essence: it renders glory to God.

What can I do to bring glory to God this Christmas season with an emphasis placed on the birth of our Savior? What can we ALL do in act of bringing good will toward men? Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, but now as a missionary, I get to truly feel the sincere meaning of this time. 

Thanks again for all your love and support. It has been a wondeful gift to me. 

JOYEUX NOËL!!!!

Sœur Green

(Cool Blog Title)

So this week, instead of rehashing all of the lessons that I learn repeatedly throughout this difficult experience, I want to talk about the blessings. 

Knowing that there is a reason for all opposition has been humbling. This month has been a weak point in my mission, I'll be honest. I can't spill a continuous waterfall of miracles and awesome moments, but I can tell you that every second of this trial has been worth knowing that God is refining me into something better.

I was talking to another missionary the other day about the time she almost went home in her second transfer. She was in the car on the way to our mission president's house with another missionary. The other missionary was really upset that she was leaving and tried to talk her out of it. She said she couldn't stay because she didn't feel like she was good enough and that God was disappointed with her for not progressing. The other missionary stopped the car and said: "God promised you change after eighteen months. You've only been here for three. God can't promise you change if you can't promise your time."

What an incredible lesson that is. I can tell you the pressure is heavy out in the mission field, but the burden makes you so much stronger. It is what the Savior died for. That we could change. That we can use the knowledge we gain from our trials toward becoming better people. Easy? No. Possible? Because of Him.

I've been doing some really cool doctrinal studies about the birth of Christ in honor of Christmas. I decided to delay posting them until Christmas comes around. Remember Him while you're with your family, your spouse, your friends, with your dog, or whoever you're going to celebrate with this year. Let our knowledge of Him and the opportunities we are given to grow effect us the way God intended them. God bless all of you. Happy growing and Merry early Christmas!!

Sœur Green

P.S. Shout out to my Dad. You're wonderful. Thank you so much.

ROMANIAN BABY. I could just squeeze this little guy all day. He's a rascal, but so adorable.

Swan photobomb. Merry Christmas to all.

My future hobo island, Annecy.

How I Learned to Love a Good Wake-up Call

Update: I'm staying in Annecy and receiving a new companion who was actually with me in the MTC! She's a Texan. So, that's cool. The busy Christmas season is coming up and we are preparing for two baptisms, so I'm kind of in survival mode as of late. Things are well, but we are going to have to wade through some very deep complications with our investigators and ward. Ah..........life............ :D

(Insert positive comments here.)

FACTS I LEARNED:

• I have proudly earned some olive-toned dark circles. Ain't nobody got time fo dat!

• Rice and beans do not belong in tortillas. My last companion was very adamant about me knowing this.

Yikes. Today may or may not be my halfway mark. It's disgusting how fast time can fly by. I still feel like I haven't even done anything yet! It's kind of a not-good feeling, ya know? I look at where I am now and what I thought I'd be at this point, and it's a tad stress-inducing. Sometimes I wonder why I haven't trained yet or why I'm not better at contacting or why I can't speak Spanish or why this or why that. But what I had to humble myself and really focus on this week was much more important. I had to mature a bit and look at my spiritual growth. Have I been focused on developing more Christ-like attributes? Have I been consecrated to this work? Have I been giving my entire heart to this work? Have I been remembering all the lessons I've learned? 

Honestly, I've been feeling lucid on my death bed this past transfer. I've been feeling that I've been falling way below what God has expected of me and what I expected of myself. I apologize ahead of time for quoting a Spielberg film, but it kind of reminds me of the scene in "Schindler's List" where Oskar, a rich man, is surrounded by all the Jews he saved from concentration camps and his friend turns to him and says that all these people were saved because of the things he did. After that, Oskar begins to break down and pull out his wallet and take off his rings and his watch and talking about the car he bought and the expensive wine he drank and the vacations he went on and telling his friend that each one of these useless things could have been another soul he could have saved.

I feel like that.

I feel like now is the time to take off the rings, take out the wallet, stop going on vacation, and start fully consecrating myself for the people that need what the gospel has to offer. Nine months sounds like an awful long time to most people. I pray that it'll be enough.

What a way to kick off this Christmas season with a message like that, haha. Know that your support is keeping me afloat in all this. I appreciate each one of you more than you will ever know. I love you so much. 

Sœur Green

Picture Day

Before I get to the fun stuff, I just want to say thank you so much for your prayers. Our Romanian family came to church (just the grandmother and the daughter-in-law because all the kids were sick) and they loved it. They are progressing so fast!! We also started teaching a Muslim from Albania that actually is kind of Christian? yeah. He's really cool. We are being blessed with so many great investigators!

So we taught a lesson to a nine year-old in the hospital wearing caps, aprons and gloves. She was misdiagnosed with meningitis and will get to leave very soon. Hardest lesson I ever taught. 

We got to do exchanges in Annamasse this week and saw some really cool miracles...and also some really cool graffiti...

Kacey Hutchinson: Just so you know, I tell all the missionaries over here 

that I dated a Lacoste model.

We got to celebrate French Thanksgiving this week with a half-American family that included raspberry pie and chicken (because Thanksgiving-type food, as you can imagine, is not actually available in France or is incredibly expensive).

"If you catch me on tha borda, I got visas in mah name!"

Arabian peanut butter. Just cuz.

Life is grand.

Have a great week!

Sœur Green

P.S. I thought I would quickly add that during the week, a seven year-old asked me if I was Green Lantern's girlfriend. My rep amongst the primary kids just went up.