In Which I Address My Agonizing Sorrow of My Departure of Clermont-Ferrand

In Which I Address My Agonizing Sorrow of My Departure of Clermont-Ferrand


I'm assuming that those who read this can infer the events of these past couple days and my thoughts on the matter. I traveled for seven hours yesterday to the hamlet of Montauban (which is actually a lot more beautiful than Clermont...but that's beside the point). Ripping away from the ward in Clermont was so, so hard. I told them I was going to finish my mission there, I loved them so much. On top of that, THE WORK WAS GOING SO WELL. Figures that I'd get transferred right before we have three baptisms. God did this to me because I was starting to blend in with the young adults probably haha. Oops. 

My new companion is the first to be from Utah. That's uncommon. Not the Utah thing, but the fact that I've never served with someone from there. It'll be interesting. Montauban has a branch with fifty members. I'm playing this new experience by ear, so let's hope I can learn a thing or two.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• French is easy. Just speak it. All the time.
• Spanish is less easy. Speak it. As much as possible.
• Montauban has the most beautiful apartment in the whole mission. Pictures to be sent later.
• I love Germans.....I miss my Germ.....

So a chapter has finished another is starting...didn't realize how much I hate finishing books. It was so great to live in the story. The ending isn't satisfying for me, really. I prefer the process. "To be continued" is a far more pleasing phrase to me than "The End". This past Sunday, I got to talk to the lady that was the miracle reactivation Sœur Hiltunen and I had the pleasure of witnessing, the one that left the church for twelve years and came back because of a hymn book she found in her closet.  We listened to how much she appreciates the sisters for knocking on her door and inviting her back and that she can't believe the both of us are gone now. I didn't have a baptism in Clermont, but hearing her say these things felt even more rewarding than having the outward appearance of success. 

And...the young adults....they were my family. They helped us so much with the work and are literally the coolest members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Yes, literally. Cooler than Gladys Knight. I will never forget the amazing Christ-like examples I've befriended and the crazy experiences I had in that ville; Now's the time to go and seek out more. God has blessed me so much, I can’t even articulate it. I pray that you all enjoy the blessing of living in a state of complete contentment. I know the gospel provides that for people, regardless of whether or not people think they have found it elsewhere. Have a great week.

Sœur Green

Two crazy ladies.  The one on the left is such a rascal...:)

Our miracle, Bérangère :) The most spiritually sensitive woman alive.

Good-bye lunch with my favorite Tahitian family.
They're having a girl, woot!

Our little investigator, Ryan, and his family.
Pray for them, please. He is incredible.

A couple of young adults came to the train station to say bye to me and one of the elders. Mes frères!

Ignore my face in this one and focus on the adorable Tahitian ball of energy.

Two of my favorite members!
I'm coming back to France for their wedding...whenever that may be...

Dropping a Word From My Homegirl, Mama T

This week was interesting, to say the least. Our investigators are all going through rough patches at the same time. The two kids we are teaching are understanding the lessons really well, but one of them has no support from his family and the other has too much, which means he's feeling pressure rather than the desire actually coming from him. Another one, and I cannot believe this, lost contact with his family in Africa after his father got assassinated at a political event. Scary. Sœur Grunke and I are kind of at a fork in the road where we need to start making some big decisions to either continue pestering them with our calls and appointments or letting them focus on other things for a while. It's not easy letting go of people, especially when you've seen principles of the gospel help them already. I'm going to call this following week "prayer week," because, for now, that seems like all we can do within the spectrum of our own power.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• I can jump pretty high…I will include evidence along with this.

• Standing on a mountain for an hour and then going indoors will make your hands burn. Badly.

• Trying to teach a ten year old about the gospel after three hours of church will not go well. FACT.

I'm going to jump right into the spiritual stuff by sharing a quote from one of my biggest inspirations in history.

"God loves a cheerful giver. She gives most who gives with joy. The best way to show our gratitude to God and the people is to except everything with joy." -Mother Teresa

I am NOT a perfect example of this, unfortunately. However, I can think of several amazing ones (and I will refrain from using Christ because that's the five year old kid obvious answer). I think of Thomas S. Monson. I think of my mother. I think of those who had influenced me so much in my adolescent years. I think of the one missionary from Scotland who had been through so much in her life, but still laughs about everything. THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!! My forced profound message today is to keep the trend going. The world is a lot cooler with people like that in it's population.

Peace, mis amigos. Go be Mother Teresas!

Sœur Green

We got to plant potatoes with this happy couple on Wednesday.
Farm work brings warmth to my soul.

Went for a lil' hike today.  Felt like we were on the Great Wall of China.

Be a MAN!!!

Sorry, family. I'm still not going to marry young...but this little one is really cute.

Happy Mom's Day

This weekend I got to Skype with my beautimous family for a little bit and eventually end up on the phone because a snow storm didn't want the house to have any power. Snow in May? God bless France. Even though it's been more than a year since I've seen any of them, it felt like I had never left.

We had the lovely opportunity of going to Lyon for Zone conference and learn about all the new changes the First Presidency is deciding to make in our teaching manual. Lots of big things are going to be happening this summer!! Hopefully there will be more happy people drowning in blessings because of it, woot woot!!

Our little investigators are moving along in the lessons. Our ten year old, Ryan, who is in a wheelchair and has never walked in his life because of a nerve disorder, loved learning about the resurrection of Christ and what that meant for him some day. Can't even think about it or I'm going to cry!! Please pray that he will be able to come to church with his family. He is a very special boy.

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Germany is the America of Europe. This is serious. After being surrounded by French people and serving with a Finnish person for three months, Sœur Grunke might as well be from the States. Hooray for thinner culture barriers and people who actually laugh at my jokes!!! 

• Renewing legality in France is the most painful process a human can endure.

• When a man that you are talking to about Jesus on the street stops you in mid-sentence and holds up a "rock on sign," that means he's a Satanist who is not actually agreeing with you and telling your that your message is rocking. I will not detail the experience...

I just want to wish all you moms, soon-to-be moms, grandmas, great grandmas, guardians, etc. a wonderful Mother's Day a day late. You are very special people and I actually found a quote on the wall the other day in someone's home that said:

"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take."-Cardinal Mermillod

Though I've never been a mother and probably won't be for a little while, I just want to express the love and appreciation I have for you all. Your families want you to know that as well, even if they drive you crazy sometimes. The longer I'm in France and the more lessons I teach, the more I realize that I brag about my mom an awful lot. She's pretty cool, not going to lie. And now there are probably about five-hundred Europeans that could agree with me too :) Thank you so much for all that you do, mom. I love you more than German chocolate, and judging from how many pounds I gained after Easter, that's quite a bit.

Have a wonderful week, mes chers amis. A la prochaine.

Sœur Green

This one's for Trevor:
Does this remind you of the Legend of Zelda just a lot?

Celebrating our beloved Yan Ming's new life in China as
a certified French business woman. She will be missed.

I just had the best P-day ever. Not really, but this a pretty cool photo :)

Here a beautiful picture of my companion.
And yes... her face is always like that.

Say This Without Sounding Angry: Haut rein, Freunde!

Sœur Green to Internet:

Found some new allies in combat. Stop.

One of them has a baptismal date for the 24th of May. Stop.

We were able to secure two member families that have been off the radar for years. Stop.

We are teaching their two oldest children of ages eleven and ten. Stop.

Our men are approaching victory with only a few bogies on our tail. Over and out.

FACTS I LEARNED: 

• This is our Stake President and he is awesome. I know a celebrity now. http://www.mormon.org/fra/matthieu 

• German is a silly language. Finnish is easier, I find.

• Teaching a ten year old the Ten Commandments is like telling a cat to sleep all day and tear up furniture.

So...this was a week of success, obviously. I need to thank you for your prayers and support that have made my mission one of the most enjoyable, productive experiences I've ever had. I'll stop talking now though and give you pictures to enjoy.

Here's a higher view of Clermont. Notre Dame Cathedral is just chilling in the middle of the city. Kind of reminds me of Mordor a little bit.

We had a crazy storm that turned the street in front of our house into a river.
Made daily planning a lot more exciting.

Some French dude at church jamming on the piano.
I thought a picture of this would be appropriate to share.

Look at the baby Tahitian.
I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind me moving to Tahiti if I gave them grandchildren that looked like this.

Joyeuses Paques!

To celebrate such a wonderful day, I want to bear my testimony of the Savior. I won't repeat myself or others over and over and again, because we all know we love Him. I want to talk about the power and significance in knowing about the Resurrection. 

On Sunday, we were invited to eat at a family's home and share a thought or two with them over a lamb and potatoes. I was feeling rather tired and incapable of speaking any word of French for this entire rendez-vous. When my companion finished talking and turned to me, my brain that was obviously shut off got zapped and suddenly mushed together French words that were coming out of nowhere. It didn't even have anything to do with what my companion said, but I started to talk about the Resurrection and how our mortal frailties will be perfected. I spoke of dear family members that suffer from serious ailments. I spoke of important people to me that have finished their time here in this life. I felt God giving me reassurance about many things that I haven't thought deeply about before. I want to give each of you a personal invitation to think about how incredible it is to know our Savior lives and what that means to every human that has ever existed in history.

Our investigator had her baby :) I just love babies, don't you?

Greatest picture of a toddler you'll ever see.
Look how he is rejoicing for the restored gospel.

We got this wonderful lady to rejoin us and now she's preparing to go to the temple in July. She's fun :)

P.S. Just so everyone knows, Grün and Green mean the same thing.....WE'RE BOTH GREENIES!!!

For All You Mormies Out There...

Transfer day was long, but awesome; I left my camera, but I will show you proof of it's awesomeness next week. It involves Spaniards on a train ride to Lyon. I'm going for my third round in Clermont-Ferrand, except my Fin was replaced by a Germ. Die Legende geht weiter!!  My companion's name is Sœur Grünke and she's from Frankfurt. She's been in France for six months but her French is incredible, so I'm planning on being fluent by the end of these next six weeks haha. This past week was really crazy: We had so many miracles coming out our ears! We hope to see a baptism this transfer amongst our Congolian friends or Dominican Republican friends. We will teach an actual French person as well....I have a feeling it's coming.....

FACTS I LEARNED:

• German fact of the week: The German flag is SYMBOLIC: It goes from black to red to gold to represent moving from the dark times, the blood of war, and into the golden times. Mind blown.

• Sweden...AH! I'm moving there!

• There is a disease in Australia called "dangy fever" and holy moses, I think I had it for a week. I must have contacted an Australian. Still alive, however. God bless modern medicine.

I'm so excited for life. I get to start yet another transfer in the beautiful country of France. Because I have this temporal sense of invincibility and confidence, I want to be a little bold with the world today, especially with our members. (Brace yourself.) 

I've been taught a few things from my mission experiences. Some verbally from my leaders, others from trial and error. I will preface this by saying NONE of us are perfect, and no one expects us to be. That said, I want to address to all Mormons everywhere the importance of your influence on others. For example, say I'm a French person going through a tour of America and I happen to stop by Salt Lake City to know more about those crazy Amish Mormons that I've seen credible documentaries about on night-time television. For members, what do you want that French person to notice about you? Are you kind? Are you charitable? Are you clean in your speech and actions? Are you RESPECTFUL and sensitive to others' backgrounds? Do you live by the standards that you covenanted with God to keep for as long as you live? If you have answered sometimes or no to any of the following, then what are you going to change starting now? Don't let your personal interview with God after this life be something that you dread. The world is your audience, even when you think no one is looking.

This week, I've had to deal with some drama among some of the members of our church that stopped coming eventually because of the judgments and behavior of others. Don't be the cause of that yourselves. This is Christ's church. Appreciate the opportunity you have to take upon His name.

Peace and love, my friends. I wanted to pretend I was Jeffery R. Holland this week because I get very few opportunities to do so. It's fun. I testify of that :) Even though it's hard sometimes to stay in line, let's all love each other and be happy. Take care of yourselves this week!!

Sœur Green

In Which I Share Something I Hope that All of You Will Internalize...

In Which I Share Something I Hope that All of You Will Internalize...

Quick update: Hit one year mark. What? Gross. Also, was approached by someone who immediately asked to be baptized. What? Seriously. Sri Lankans were sick this week :( They are still progressing, so thank you for your prayers! Also, quick shoutout to my sister, my dad, and my grandfather who are getting old. JOYEUX ANNIVERSAIRE!!!

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Our Albanian friend is moving back home for the summer. Clermont just lost cool points.....

• JEFFERY R. HOLLAND IS MY HERO. That sister missionary story he shared has been experienced by every French missionary. Last week in Lyon, a man did the same thing except replace the potatoes with a tuna sandwich and instead of trying to hit me, he tried to nudge me into the street. Getting persecuted for the Savior is awesome. Not sarcasm.

I'm going to share some verses from Luke in the New Testament that I find powerful. It takes place while Christ is being crucified. From chapter 23:

39 ¶And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

It's a small event that moves fairly quickly and is easy to look over in casual reading. Something that I've noticed for the past year is how cruel people can be to themselves. Surprisingly, it's the people that have already completed the ordinances of baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost, people that UNDERSTAND the significance of the Atonement, that have the hardest time with this. I've heard every excuse in the book that "God can't forgive me because I did this."or "God couldn't forgive someone like me." or "It's too late for me to change" etc, etc. 

LOOK AT THIS EXAMPLE. 

A malefactor, a seriously reviled criminal, received forgiveness WHILE HE WAS HANGING ON A CROSS. And you think it's too late for you to change? Of course, this is a concept that would be hard to grasp if one didn't understand that grace is a gift given to all mankind. Even disciples of Christ find themselves struggling to gain a testimony of this, even those who have been taught this their entire lives. This is one of the most beautiful teachings that Christ has shared. Forgive yourself so that God can do the same. There is no excuse that can justify the contrary.

I love you. Sorry I get preachy sometimes. I've slipped into habit after a year of doing it, haha. I pray for you, even those who don't share my beliefs or have any beliefs at all. You are all dear to me and your support has been a blessing to me for the last 365.4 days.

Sœur Green