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.

How I Learned to Love Stepping Down

This week was actually the hardest week of my mission. Scratch that. My life. I feel as though I say that too often, but alas, life always seems to find ways to one-up my past experiences haha.

Snow has already started to fall down in buckets here. Occasionally we get a break, but then there's always that beloved slosh that you have to walk in everywhere. This Georgia girl is still adapting. That time in Utah didn't prepare me well enough for this!!!

Cool miracle: I got to teach my first lesson in SPANISH. Sœur Cerdhé wanted to meet up with a lady she had taught and was baptized in Geneva while we were there for a conference, so we went, we taught, and now I have a new favorite human being!! She's a little 4'9" Peruvian with the strongest faith I've ever seen. She's been living in Switzerland for medical treatment (she has cancer) and she hasn't seen her husband for 8 years. She is the most incredible person. I can't express it any more deeper than that.

Update on our family: They've got DATES. Baptismal ones. And we're excited. Really, really excited :)

Ana Luz and Us

Me and Sœur Cerdhé

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Algeria produces some beautiful people. Good grief.

• Romanian chocolate cake = new Klondike bar?

• If you give an Italian woman the Book of Mormon, chances are she'll want to cook you lunch.

• If you give an American missionary with pride issues practically raw meat still gushing red juice for lunch, chances are her experienced Mexican companion will diagnose the both of you with parasites weeks later.

• If you give an inexperienced American missionary parasite medication, chances are her body will react as though she has cholera. At one in the morning. And at four. And for the next two days after that.

Despite this week being filled with EXTREME physical and spiritual opposition, we know that we're scaring the livin' daylights out of the adversary. How do we know this? Our last rendez-vous with the Rupa family was the most spirit-driven, most successful, and most eye-opening lesson I've ever had. We asked the grandmother if she had started to read the Book of Mormon, she flipped open to Chapter 16 in the first book and said she reads it every second she gets (we had given it to her three days beforehand). When we started to explain the plan of salvation, she began to cry (well, sob) and kept repeating over and over that this is true. All of it is true. She accepted a date for three weeks later to get baptized, along with all her daughters and daughter-in-laws.

There was one thing I noticed that I let myself do differently in this lesson. I stopped trying to think of everything I needed to say beforehand, like what they tell you not to do in the MTC. Just lean on the Spirit. God took control of that entire lesson, and now we can help this beautiful family take the necessary steps toward Him. I love my calling. Just so you know. There isn't another feeling that compares to having God work through you to help others feel that same peace. Swallowing pride and stepping down. Who would have thought that those MTC teachers were right??

I love you. I pray for you. If there was anything I could want more this Christmas season, it would be your prayers for this family. They've already started to get a wave of opposition. Thank you. Your prayers make all the difference.

Sœur Green

Counting Blessings...

Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans out there. I decided to share just un petit peu of my gratitude and the blessings I see every day to feel that holiday spirit despite being on the other side of the Atlantic. I hope it is a good day for all of you!!

First off, I'm thankful for my calling and every experience that it has given me. Everyone in my family, ward, and group of friends that have made this possible for me holds a special place in my heart and always will. I hope you reap every blessing that God gives you. You are generous and loving people.

I must share my thanks for all of those we teach, especially our new BIG family that harbors so much hope and faith despite their crippling trials.

I am so thankful to be a part of something this genuine and lasting. I have never felt so accomplished and ready to take on whatever comes. There have been so many people that have impacted me so greatly and provided me with such a valuable perspective, it's impossible to say that God didn't have a hand in making these things happen.

In brief, I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who gives me a life that I clearly don't deserve. I am thankful for His patience with my shortcomings. I am thankful for His hand that has pulled me up when I've found myself sinking.

Thank you so much for who you are and your desire to be great people. Don't ever lose that fire. Your worth is immeasurable. I love you. Take care. Walk off all that turkey so you can enjoy Christmas :)

Sœur Green

Some pictures to make you happy:

How I Learned to Love Measuring My Own Progression

Miracle week has arrived. Today, we had a lesson with the cutest family who has just started coming to our branch in Annecy. Before that, we had a miracle lesson in the train station while we were waiting for our train to get to their house. The man was an ex-Muslim from Guinea and was PREPARED to meet us. He took a Book of Mormon and wants to see us again. 

After our lesson with our member family, we tried to visit a less-active church member who we found out moved away because his name isn't on the building sonnerie. So, we prayed, got the feeling we should start walking south, and not coincidently, we knocked on the door of a family from Romania who let us right in and let us start teaching all 20 of them that were crammed in there, haha. I could cry, I'm so happy. Nothing is more rewarding than teaching families the gospel. They were so open and told us to come by this Friday with a Romanian Book of Mormon. 

I want to thank you all for your prayers and support. This is what you are helping make happen. I could probably list off so many more things, but the internet cafe closes in 10 minutes and I'm trying to type on this crazy French keyboard as fast as I can.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Putting off your emails until the evening is a stupid idea.

• Professional Ping Pong tournaments are INTENSE. Our investigator invited us to one of his matches and I seriously was sweating the entire time. You can't even keep your eye on the ball, you have to follow the player's movements!

• If you combine mine and Soeur Cerdhé's names in Spanish, we're Hermanas Cerdhé and Verde. Yeah. Basically, we're Spanish superheroes here to baptize the world.

• My calling is the coolest experience ever and I so badly want to get an extension......

I must admit that recently I've discovered yet another flaw that spots my moral complexion. Up until not long ago, I had trouble comparing myself to the performance of other missionaries. In short, I was comparing my weaknesses to their strengths. Yeah. I know. When I write it out bluntly, I see how stupid it is. But really, when you are serving with a companion that has literally every positive trait in the book, how else are you supposed to feel?? I've conscientiously had to monitor my thoughts and stop thinking every negative thing I think about myself. It truly does impact my performance and ability to show my love for others. It's been a lesson in humility for me. I've never leaned so hard on prayer. Progress is only accurately measured in relation to you and your past self. If you are like me, MEMORIZE THAT. Believe me, it will make you so much happier. 

I love you all. I want you all to know that. I pray for you and for your happiness. You are definitely a contributor to mine. Bonne semaine!!

Hermana Verde