How I Learned to Love Adaptation

Things are just dandy in the middle of France. Other than the fact that I have a faucet for a nose and a subwoofer for a brain, the work is going well. We ended up having three investigators at church, one being a preacher from a protestant church and two of them being his friends. ALL INTERESTED IN OUR MESSAGE. Strange, but I ain't complaining. Sœur Hiltunen and I are getting all our work organized finally and it seems like things are going a lot smoother. Lots of cool miracles are happening and in the queue as well. God is spoiling us.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Washing your hands after riding the Lyon Metro is more than necessary. It's unwritten law.

• Clermont has the most amazing young adults. They're teaching me how to be cool. My future husband is totally going to be French. I know that you're just SO excited to hear that, Dad :) Too bad I'm not kidding...

• Finnish Fact: every child in Scandinavia has one of two sweaters when they are young: a strawberry one if you're a girl and a blueberry one if you're a boy. Photo Cred: four year-old Sœur Hiltunen

Clermont was really easy to adapt to. I don't know why, but I feel like I've been living here all my life. Maybe this is God's way of helping His missionaries get more work done. Not only do I feel like I've been living here forever, I feel like I've been a MISSIONARY forever. I feel like this is all I've ever done and will do. I know that, logically, that's not the case. But, something got switched on in my brain during this transfer. I just want to WORK. 

I just want to briefly bear my testimony of what millions of people all over the world, in many different countries, in many different languages, confess to be truth. I know that God exists. I know we are here for a reason. I know that Christ has given us the enabling power to mold ourselves into incredible beings because of his selfless acts he fulfilled on this earth. I know he will come again. I know that prayer is real. I know that God listens. I know that we can all have this same knowledge and capacity in this life. I love you and I pray for you. 

Sœur Green

Creepy statues riddle this city.

Down the street from us. As a film history fan I give this wall my stamp of approval.

Prison Break

Great miracles are happening here in Clermont. We've been having a lot of anti-miracles, but we all know that with anti-miracles comes a learning experience and then something so friggin awesome you can't even type it in words. We've got some new friends we're teaching and two of them are progressing like crazy. See below for details.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• I have lost the ability to type on an American keyboard. I'm typing this like a two year-old right now.

• Finnish Fact of the week: Angry Birds originates from Finland. You're welcome.

• Finnish word of the week: kiitos (kee-toos). Translation: thank you.

I am going to be sharing three stories this week because I can't choose just ONE.

1. We were passing by an older member of our ward here whose wife is in the hospital suffers from all kinds of problems. He's been really lonely, so we thought it'd make him feel better if we paid him a visit. We were simply standing in his doorway singing him hymns and talking about his life when this woman comes up behind us and says, "You don't have the right to be in this apartment building." ...to which we replied, "We're visiting a friend. He's a member of our church.'' ....to which she then contorted, ''Well, explain that to the police when they get here. I already called them five minutes ago." Okay. Since when was it illegal to make old lonely people happy?!?! With that, we left him with a prayer and then booked it the heck out of there.

2. We had just finished having a lesson in an apartment building (where it was legal to be there) and as we were going down the stairs, Sœur Hiltunen turns to me and says, "We have to go knock on the door across the way.'' So we did. And now we are teaching an awesome person.

3. The other day was ridiculous. All four of the lessons we had planned with people fell through within two hours through text messages. I woke up to a bunch of messages on our phone telling us they couldn't make it or weren't interested. So, plan b: walk in the rain and wind all day talking to people on the street who weren't interested either. Around five o'clock, I thought Sœur Hiltunen was going to murder me. We were so tired and had been rejected all day long. We hadn't eaten or sat down for hours. AND THEN WE MEET CHRISTINE. She is an older woman who lost her husband not too long ago and was on her way home with some groceries in her hands. We stopped her and asked her if we could help and then started talking for a long time about religion. She said she had no faith whatsoever (surprise) but that she's still searching. We told her, "Well lucky for you, that's why we're here." She opened right up to us and invited us over for dinner and hot chocolate.......um, WIN???? We sang her hymns until dinner was ready and at the end of the evening, she teared up and said, "thank you for bringing light into my home. I've been sad for years. Will you please come back?"

Church is true. That's all I can tell you after the experiences I had this week. I love you all. Thank you for being wonderful. A la prochaine!

Sœur Green

Family Home Evening at our favorite Tahitian family's place.
Reinacting the story of Daniel. Sœur H was Daniel and I was an evil prince.

And here was our little lion.

And our King Darius

Ua here vau ia oe

Sœur Hiltunen's mom sent us Valentine's gifts. Woot!

My Big Fat Finnish Wedding

This week was worthy of several painful shrieks of, "Why me?!?!?" to the heavens, but we didn't return to apartment Sunday night until we found someone who was serious about being taught by us. We had started the week with twelve planned lessons. Did ANY of them happen? I'll let you use context clues. However, did we find a sincere investigator who wants to read the Book of Mormon and come to church? Yes. At 8:15 Sunday night, 15 minutes before we had to send in our weekly numbers to our mission leaders. Our numbers did not reflect our efforts this week, but I know that we at least had quality, and I'd personally take that over hundreds of numbers that count for nothing.

Fun story of the week (and I mean so incredibly fun):

context: We were at a less-active member's home teaching her about the Restoration.

Woman: Sœur Hiltunen....your eyes are so blue and gorgeous! (goes on for five minutes about how beautiful she is and then notices that I'm kind of sitting there and hearing all of it) Your eyes are nice too, Sœur Green, but they're not the same as hers.

*INSERT A STRUGGLING LESSON HERE ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO COME TO CHURCH*

Sœur Hiltunen: So we made this for you to stick on your fridge and remind you to read your scriptures. *turns around to stick a paper to the fridge*

Woman: That hair! You have beautiful eyes, beautiful hair...you're going to find yourself a nice boyfriend when  you go back home.

Me: Haha yeah......................

Woman, to me: Don't worry about looks. It's what's on the inside that counts. You're beautiful because you're nice.

OKAY. I know I'm not gorgeous......but seriously, this woman was acting like I was the hunchback of Clermont-Ferrand who was neglecting my bell ringing duties by coming into her home and clouding her presence with my unattractiveness. Ask me about my self-esteem.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Finnish word of the week: Hei hei. Translation: Bye bye.

• Finnish fact of the week: 90% of Finnish homes have a sauna attached to it. If I told you this already, it's because I'm not keeping up with what I write on here.......

• Old French ladies think I look like Quasimodo. But f'real.

This week may not have been as successful as I'd like to report to you, but I will tell you of some incredible experiences we had with some of the members here. So, oddly enough, there is a Finnish couple here and they invited us over to their home to bask in their Finnishness and eat all Finnish food and look at Finnish art and sing songs in Finnish while wearing Finnish clothes and swapping stories about Finland and talking in Finnish (I didn't have a whole lot to add to the conversation, quite frankly). And the way they talked about Finland and the culture.....It reminded me of the dad in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." I was literally serving in Finland for a day.

These two people are the only members of the church from their families and their testimonies are so incredible, I can't even come near that level of spirituality. They were so kind and their countenances were so bright, it was almost blinding. You can tell they've had to sacrifice so much for the things they believe. They were literally modern-day pioneers. Meeting people like that make me so proud to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Examples like them should be more prevalent in the church. Remember to not only believe the gospel, but live it as well.

I love you. So much. Thank you for the thoughts you send and for your support. It really makes moments like these lighter. Que Dieu vous bénisse!

Sœur Green

Sunday afternoon: the last edible thing in our apartment.

Traditional Finnish socks you wear in the house (wearing shoes is an abomination)

"I am a Child of God" in Finnish

Mille Feuille: Heaven on Earth

Mita Kuuluu, ystavani!!! Here's a story to make you happy.

Clermont-Ferrand is a fountain of miracles. Soeur Hiltunen and I are feeling really good about this transfer. We've already seen the work pick up just in this first week! Why is God spoiling me? I'm not really sure, but now is not the time to be asking questions like that. The ward here gave the new elder and me the biggest welcome I've ever received probably in my entire life. The members here are anxious to help the sister missionaries because we're new in the ville. :) Gotta love member work.

Thanks to not having a companion that isn't at the end of her mission, I've seen a jump in my French and Spanish (and Finnish) speaking. We have two Peruvian families in the ward!! Wards with lots of diversity are my favorite. Lots of different lifestyles and perspectives that still reflect the same gospel.

Despite all this good news, it hasn't been easy as far as getting quality AND quantity. I'm better at the latter, but contacting so many in a day is hard for me now that I'm in a bigger city and people are so intimidating and not as friendly. God has been carrying me through each situation; practically picking me up and carrying me. I've been quite a heavy burden in His arms though because I had no idea how to train or lead lessons when I got to Clermont. Thankfully it started to pick up after the first couple of days!

I'll report on our investigators later when we actually get appointments with them haha.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Finnish Fact of the week: 99% of the houses in Finland have a sauna attached to it. They're crazy sauna people.

• Finnish word of the week: lahetyssaarnaaja. Translation: missionary

• Americans are like nuns compared to Scandinavians when it comes to being modest in public.

So this week, I had the most incredible miracle I've ever seen in my entire mission. I want to tell it with reverence and excitement at the same time, because it's that AMAZING. Soeur Hiltunen and I went to visit this woman who has been in-active for the last twelve years. They weren't able to see her at all last transfer and the elders have never been able to go. So, when we knocked on this woman's door, we weren't expecting anyone to be there, and if so, a soft, "please take me off your contact list permanently." But, she WAS there, and despite her asking how we got her address, SHE LET US IN. She said she's never had sister missionaries over. She started rambling and rambling and telling us that it's so cute how we carry around a book that we pretend is true and create our own feelings and call it some kind of spirit. This is a member who left the church because she had a baby out of wedlock when she was 18 and was afraid to be judged by others. 12 years later, she claims that she's buddhist and that we're the ones who use our own logic instead of getting answers from God. 

Naturally, we shared Moroni 10:3-5 with her. She scoffed a bit and we sat there for another good 30 minutes listening to her tear apart the principles of the gospel because she said that when she prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true, she didn't get an answer. We talked a bit about how God gives us answers in different ways and according to his time, and usually it's not what we expect. She got quiet and wanted to change the subject, so she invited us to stay for dinner. While we were eating, she looked at us from across the table and her demeanor changed a bit. She said, "I wish I could say those same things you said earlier about knowing that God is there. I'm jealous you can say that." 

THE NEXT DAY, we get a call in the middle of a lesson from an unknown number. When we called back, it turned out to be the same woman, and she was talking a thousand miles a minute. She talked about how she was thinking about the scripture we shared and that she started to read a couple pages here and there. She said that she couldn't remember the scripture, so instead she flipped through the cantiques and looked for old songs she knew. She stumbled over Aimez Vos Frères and she started to sing it to herself. She said that immediately after she started singing, she started to cry. She thought that it was weird that the sisters showed up at her house and that she wanted to read and pray again. She told me over the phone that she had gotten her answer that God wants her to come back. She asked for the church times and sat by us in church the next morning. 

Funny part of this story, we didn't really do anything. All we had to do was show up at her door and listen to her doubts. I have a testimony of Moroni's promise. The answer comes differently to everyone, but still. IT COMES. Thank you for your prayers and support. Miracles are coming, and they're coming fast.

Update on Maria: She is doing well. They're still looking for a solution, but there's still time.

Sœur Green

Late international Christmas in Clermont. Notice how happy everyone is :)

How I Learned to Love God's Intricate Network of Events...

Besides the fact that I'm gradually slipping into a vegetative state due to sleep deprivation and traveling, I'm incredibly happy. So, first off: I got transferred to the MIDDLE of France to a place called Clermont-Ferrand. It's a giant, old city surrounded by dormant volcanoes. That is not a joke. And the best part: I'm training a girl from Finland. That is also not a joke. It's kind of funny how I used to complain that my mission wasn't hard enough for me and that I wanted more responsibility. Hilarious, actually.

My companion, Soeur Hiltunen, is so lovely. She is culturing me in the many wonders that make up the mysterious country of Finland. It's a party 24/7. Our ville is so freaking HUGE. I stared at our map on the wall for thirty minutes the other day. Do I know where I'm going? Ha..........

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Scandinavian people are obsessed with licorice. Black, salty licorice. Tried three different kinds. Meh.

• My new favorite phrase: "Mita Kuutti?" Translation: "What's up, seal-pup?" 

• Training in a ville you don't know............lizjelijdflkhjq dlfkhjlqdfkhjqldkfhj!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I have good news and bad. Maria, four days after her baptism, was taken by the police at the elementary school where she was picking up her grandkids. It turns out her legal papers are going to expire and she has thirty days to leave France. 

When we went to our lesson at her house, her daughter was the only one there and said that Maria is leaving very soon. My heart broke. There was nothing I could do. We got one of the members on the phone and he said that there is a program that may allow Maria to only live in Romania for a couple months and then come back, but we aren't positive. So many prayers are going out to her and her family. It's amazing how God allows these things to happen and they seem like a horrific problem at first. But after praying so, so hard and looking for every possible solution, I feel at peace for her and her family. I know that they are going to see this through. I know that Maria is going back to Romania to be a light to those over there. She is incredible. She was meant to receive the gospel at the time that she did. THIS EXPERIENCE PROVES GOD LOVES HIS CHILDREN. He loves Maria so much that he put us in her path at this exact moment when she needed to be prepared for these new hardships. She needs this gospel, and God made that happen for her. 

There are never coincidences. The light at the end of the tunnel is small, sometimes invisible. But it's still there, regardless of how well we can see it.

I love you. Thank you again for your support and your prayers. Vous êtes des anges.

Sœur Green

This is the last time I saw Maria

This is my favorite Italian woman in the world. Saying good-bye to her was so hard.

Romanian babies :)

Along Came Carmen...

This week was the busiest week of my mission. Everything for our baptism had to be planned to the very last detail. Simultaneously, I've seen God's hand in this work the firmest it has ever been. Maria did get baptized this week. After an obstacle here and an obstacle there, she was able to walk down the stairs of a baptismal font this past Saturday. All I can say is, I did nothing. That was not my work that led her to this life-changing decision. Prayers have been answered and another daughter of God's family was able to join His side.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Romanians get my humor more than French people do. Riddle me that.
• If a woman gets into a baptismal font after dying her hair the day before, chances are she will come out of the water as pink as a highlighter and drip pink water all over the chapel floor so that you have to follow her around with tissues until the night is over.
• Speaking of hair, Europeans tell me I'm blonde. You've seen my head. You know what color that actually is...

What I felt this weekend is really hard to explain. As much as I'd like to, I really can't find the best way. I stood by Maria as she waited by the stairs to go down into the water and all I can remember is seeing her glow. She gave me a hug and began to cry (and quite frankly, a tear or two may have escaped my eyes as well). She told me she thanks God every day for sending Sœur Cerdhé and I to her that day in November. Her family even admitted that she's different. She's happier. 

Carmen did not join her that day because she wanted to see Maria do it first. She talked to us after church the next day and said she's been talking to her husband about it. Her family is opening up more and more to the gospel each day. I can't believe God has placed this family in my life and given me the opportunity to see this family be transformed by the spirit from day one. It's been a learning experience that I thought I'd never see. It's an incredibly fine process. 

Each struggle is worth each blessing. I am a living testimony of that.

I love you. You are prayed for. Que Dieu vous bénisse!

Sœur Green

The Misadventures of Prayer Girl and Christmas Man: Episode 1

AGH! Can I just say I LOVE LIFE with the raging intensity of the movement of all the subatomic particles in the universe? Our branch here has the greatest people that spoil us missionaries so much. And our investigators? We taught 13 lessons this week. That's double the usual amount Annecy sees in a normal week, and we plan to continue this new trend. We found two solid people, one from Kosovo and another from....guess....FRANCE. Weird, right? We were also able to contact a record amount since my coming to Annecy. 600 people this week. God truly rains miracles on those who are diligent. I've lost count of all of them. 

Our baptism for Maria will be this Saturday if all goes well :) I can't believe I get to see her finally make such an important decision and promise to God. She is one of the strongest women I've ever met. She's still hanging in there despite her daughter being in and out of the hospital. Please pray for her and her family if you can. She and I would appreciate that beyond expression.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Old Cambodian couples...the reason why I have confidence in my career choice as an English teacher in Asia one day.

• If you give a 7 year old half-Cambodian girl the idea that you are in fact the Green Lantern, chances are she will bother her parents to invite the missionaries over for dinner once a week. Um, score?

• There is a holiday here that takes place after new years in honor of the three kings of the nativity. They celebrate by eating a cake with a figurine hidden in it and whoever gets the figurine in their slice gets to wear a paper crown for the day. Guess how I found this out....

Today is not a profound message (because you know that I'm just filled with those). It's an experience I had over the last couple days that I think is really simple, but still really funny and proof of God's hand being in this work.

Two days ago, I sat next to this old man on the bus that looked a little "grumpy," if you will. Here's my best recount of what happened:

"Bonjour. Are you having a good day today?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, did you have a great Christmas and New Year?"

"That's a personal question."

"Oh, excuse me." 

*awkward silence*

"I know what you're trying to do. It's a shame you're here to convince the non-believing."

"I'm actually not here to convince anybody. I can't actually do that as a human being. I mean, seriously. I can't even speak your language!"

"(insert a five minute rant about how I'm brainwashed and that God couldn't possibly exist because of reasons, etc.)"

"Have you ever prayed before?"

"Prayed to who, to what?"

"I think you know."

"Never. I don't waste time talking to no one."

"You should give it a try in your free time."

"Oh la...."

*Bus stops in front of our apartment*

"I have to go. It was so nice to talk to you!"

"Yeah (mumbled french words)"

"Pray and then tell me about it. Sound good?"

"Oh absolutely (more french mumble)"

Fast forward to this morning: My companion and I were coming back from a RDV at the hospital (that was for neither of us, just for clarification). We got on a random bus that I figured would take us back to centerville........and guess who we found....

Christmas Man got on after a few stops, saw me, and immediately made this dramatic scene (luckily it was an empty bus). I asked him how he was doing and he politely responded and asked the same. I said it was beautiful outside and everyone has been very nice today. He responded, "Oh really? Because I prayed for that." I thought this guy was pretty darn clever, and I guess he thought so too, because we both laughed and shook hands. 

The whole point of me telling you this isn't to show you how awkward missionary life is (even though it REALLY is). I just love the change in this man's countenance that took place in less than 24 hours thanks to that miniscule encounter. I love seeing people smile because of something we do, even if it's a little sarcastic joke (to be honest, those people are my favorite). I know that I get to see these amazing transformations because I'm called to the greatest work. God put this man in my path again to help me see that. Humans are such amazingly dynamic creatures.

I love you. So much. God is so proud of everything you do. Remember that, because there are a lot who don't.

Bonne Année, mes cheris!

Sœur Green  

Here's a portrait of me done by one of our primary kids. I keep it in my scriptures.
Is that not the most beautiful interpretation you've ever seen?

¡Viva La Frances!

Worth the pay.