"I'm Happy Like a Schnitzel!!!"

The title of this brief expression of thought is brought to you by Sœur Reichelt, my beloved German companion. And, yes. It is a phrase that is used in modern colloquial context in the eastern regions of Germany. 

Well, besides biking forty kilometers to teach a girl who wasn't interested in engaging herself in our lessons, this week was fantastic!!! Before leaving the chapel on Sunday, we prayed for a miracle. And, God being a God of miracles, gave us one. AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE. We had a lot of time after church to go contacting because one of our lessons fell through and I decided to show Sœur Reichelt the pretty parts of Montauban. Turns out God planned that for us anyway, because we met Roman and Daniella, a fourteen year old boy and his mother from Bulgaria. This boy is incredible. He learned how to speak English from watching television and is fluent, so we explained to him who we were and what the Book of Mormon was. I wish his reaction was caught on film. He was so open and excited! He said he has found his faith recently and that he has so many questions that need answers. After we exchanged information with his mother and set up a time to pass by them Thursday, the boy looked at us and said that this was a miracle. We prayed with them right then and there on the street and they were so touched. I even got to use the one Bulgarian word I learned in Bordeaux :) (Blogodaria!!...phonetically spelled, of course). Agh!!! The church is so true, it's not even funny.

Top five Sœur Reichelt quotes thus far:

• "I hope lightning strikes them when they're sitting on the toilet...."

• "Don't disturb my skirt!!!"

• "Sorry, maybe I'm too German but that's not going to happen..."

• (Talking to a broken printer) "Are you making jokes with me?!"

• "Please remind me to remember that word." (English language study)

Before forty kilometers

and after.

On the way back from the lesson, little Sœur Green had to take a break and take pictures in a nearby field.

Oh, I forgot to mention that after biking for two hours in the afternoon, the wheel broke off the front of my (borrowed) bike and I had to carry it through a strip of outdoor restaurants of staring people in centerville.

But, lo. Our ward mission leader came by and fixed my bike today before I have to give it back to the person who lent it to me.  Repentance works!

I've Only Got Five Minutes Before We Go to the Train Station, so....

I've Only Got Five Minutes Before We Go to the Train Station, so....


This has probably been the most stressful day I've had in a while, so I'll briefly tell about the miracle week we had before today, haha. I've only got five minutes before we go to the train station, so....

Highlight number 1: We just got a referral from the sisters in Bordeaux......and guess where this girl is from. Yeah. Deutschland, baby.

Highlight number 2: We celebrated Bastille Day with our dear buddy, Sœur Korpal. We got permission to stay and watch the fireworks until twelve. 

Highlight number 3: We had an older couple come to church on Sunday and they want us to come over anytime. And they are totally normal, kind people! They don't want our money or to talk about America. They are actually interested in the gospel!!!!!

Kay. Gotta go. Love you all. Peace and blessings. Sœur Green

Yay France! And Germany! And America!

Got a high five from the cutest kid in the world basically. Be jealous.

Worst photo I've taken on my mission...but evidence of our joy...

I'll Give You a Hint: I'm Serving with a Citizen from the Winning Country Against France this Past Week.

 I'll Give You a Hint: I'm Serving with a Citizen from the Winning Country Against France this Past Week.


GUTEN TAG. AGAIN. Staying in Montauban for round two, except only this time I'm serving with my second German! Das ist gute. Her name is Sœur Reichelt and she is on fire. She kind of scares me a little actually (haha.......). With that said, we will have a total of four baptisms this transfer. We are teaching a family that has a date for the 15th of August and they are having to climb some painful obstacles. Please pray for the Tomasin (Tom-ah-zahne) family :) There are going to be crazy miracles this transfer.

FACTS I LEARNED: 

• I'm old in the mission. Don't know when that happened. I'm practically in the missionary retirement home.
• In the missionary retirement home, you have to work really hard to keep your mind sharp and your muscles from atrophying away.
• The senior couple, the Burtons, in Clermont Ferrand is getting transferred to NICEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CLERMONT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!
• In good news, one of the little boys I taught in Clermont got baptized this Saturday!! I am so, so happy :)

Sœur Green

Here's the little tike :) I'm so sad I didn't get to be there.
Sœur Grunke told me that the whole family was crying and more than half the ward showed up.

After transfer calls, Sœur Caldwell and I treated ourselves to our first restaurant experience in over a year.
She is happily serving in the city of Tarbes now.
Also, I discovered that I needed to relearn restaurant etiquette. haha

Oh, and let me tell you how great it is to celebrate the Forth of July with an eighty year old French woman.
It is great.

We lost some really good missionaries in our district this transfer.
Here's a tribute to Elder Peel, whose head is cut off in the photo unfortunately. Huzzah!

Our good friends, the Tomasins. August 15th guys.
This family will be a blessing to this branch.

We had an activity on Sunday were we made cookies with a few families...and we caught this little guy licking the dough off the roller. Thankfully we bless the food before we eat it.

Couldn't resist posting this photo of one of our member families.
The World Cup here is even bigger than the superbowl in America.
Amplify our enthusiasm by twelve thousand. People even get off work early to go home and watch it.

"Why U Have First Same Name?"

Wow this week... Lots of of items checked off my bucket list. Started teaching a man from Madagascar named Dieudonné. Direct translation: "God given". He was a miracle when we found him; we stopped him on the street after two hours of being rejected. God gave us this new investigator, truly. Also, we played a heated match of soccer at a church activity against our ward mission leader, our second counselor in the branch presidency, and this Afganistani guy that we invited two weeks ago to our English class. I know all the secrets of how to play like a European/Asian now, so watch out. The Afghan texted us after and was asking us really funny questions in broken English.  

Unfortunately, we will not be having a baptism this transfer, given that we get our transfer calls in five days and our investigators have dropped us like flies because of smoking problems or laziness about coming to church. And that's okay. I've learned so much this transfer and have gotten the hang of working with a tiny branch. There are some incredible members here and I can't wait to work more with them.

Sœur Green

Spent some time with this beautiful family on Saturday in a city that's far away.
They waited until the train rolled away to go back to their car.
I love these people like family. :)

As close as I'll get to Iceland for now.

Haha....yeah....only when I'm a missionary does this happen....

Sœur Caldwell hit her year mark!! We celebrated with sticky ice cream in a frozen lemon,
using plastic spoons we asked for at a bakery, by a canal. It was quite glamorous.

Excuse my demented expression. This was when we visited a less-active member and surprised her with some pastries. She announced this week that she started her plan to stop smoking! She will be completely done in six months!!! She is another member of my Montauban family :)

We trained a couple young adults how to use Preach My Gospel for a FHE activity and they taught us a beautiful lesson on how to recognize the Spirit. Sœur Green gave herself a short haircut and got a nice tan.

I was going through Sœur Caldwell's camera and found a series of photos of me taking pictures of roadkill.
I have changed a lot on my mission, but I'm still the same person...

My favorite picture of the week:  drawn by the little girl that you see in the first picture.
She taught us how to walk like gymnasts. :)

You are My Sunshiiiiiine, My Only Sunshiiiiine...you make me happyyyyyyy when skies are graaaay.

You are My Sunshiiiiiine, My Only Sunshiiiiine...you make me happyyyyyyy when skies are graaaay.  


So...I didn't include a really cool experience last week because the Andersen conference in Nice just blew everything else out of the water. Allow me to briefly report our experience teaching twenty-five retired folks in a community English class the restoration. Basically, we were two Americans invited to speak at this class...and, as inevitably predicted, the class let it turn into a heated religious discussion (which was unfortunate because we had a guitar with us and were asked beforehand to sing folk songs with them). While we kept very calm and simply explained the origin of our church, immediately when we testified of Christ's authority being restored after many years of being lost after the death of his apostles, whispers and giggles busted throughout the room. I have literally never felt so close to understanding how Christ himself felt as He taught His disciples that eventually turned away because of their misunderstanding. It's kind of weird that I could look at this situation that way, as a blessing, I mean. Among the myriad of instantaneous arguments challenging my beliefs, I could feel Christ giving me a reassurance that I was standing right where I should be and that I shouldn't move. I can't really explain the feeling much further, especially over the internet, but know that I know the things I teach to people in broken French everyday are true.

Have a great week! I love each of you like a French pastry. Pastry of the week: The Gourmandise. Just so you know.

Sœur Green 

We give pop rocks to kids here... and then film their reactions.

Did an awesome exchange with Sœur Luthi in Bordeaux this week;
it was nice to see it again after a whole year.

We teach a family that lives in centerville...so we get to go... all the time....

Tomatoes, mozzarella, and the beloved gourmandise. God bless France. 

This is what happens Sunday night when you forget to buy toilet paper on P-day.

Oh, I might have done another in exchange in Toulouse as well.
The church is growing so fast there that God blesses them with this sky every night. :)

The Following is a Record of the Spiritual History of the People of Montauban (*about 2014 A.D.)

The Following is a Record of the Spiritual History of the People of Montauban (*about 2014 A.D.)


And it came to pass that I, Sœur Green, and my companion, having prepared for many weeks, traveled for many days to the land Bountiful, which is called Nice. Yea, we were presented with much revelation insomuch that I, Sœur Green, did shed tears for my people in Montauban. We were enlightened greatly with insights about the significance of all things, yea, of our callings, our purpose, and our Savior. Having said much, Elder Andersen bore strong witness of our Redeemer, showing us that faith contains the power to do all things. And I would exhort each of you to meditate over this last phrase. For by faith, all things are possible. 

FACTS I LEARNED:

• Reading the scriptures on a ten hours bus ride will affect your diction.
• In fact, reading consistently for ten hours period will affect you in general. 
• I have a lot of fun with the English language.
• Everything is funny to me now.
• I have a feeling that it's going to be hard to be around me in four months...:)

For behold, many investigators in the land of Montauban have ceased to progress in their spiritual knowledge. Yea, after praying much, we were able to see investigators that have opened their doors after ceasing to be taught after a long period of time. And it came to pass that we were guided to visit a family from Slovakia. We used the talents bestowed upon us to sing hymns and play guitar for this family. And it delighted the people so, insomuch that we did pray with them after, yea, prostrated in a circular gathering. And it has been decided that, we will continue to go forth and preach unto these righteous people.

In all seriousness, I want to tell each and every one of you that I have felt God's presence this past week. I know that he lives and knows each of us personally. I would be lying if I said anything contrary. I understand better that questions are normal, but doubts are not necessary. It is truly a matter of opening our ears and placing our hearts where they should be. This is true; I would never say something like this with hollow conviction. Look at the promises in the scriptures. They are sincere. And they are for everyone. I love you. Have a wonderful week! Sœur Green

I love when these things happen.

Nice: (noun); Beverly Hills of France.

In commemoration of my father: A picture of France that looks like Utah. 

Happy Father's day!!! I love you and I'm sending you a letter in a crazy envelope I made 

since I didn't make you enough crafts in elementary school.

L'Hôtel.

The Land Bountiful.

Picture Day!

Picture Day!

This is a painting Sœur Caldwell did for our investigator family. They are going through a rough patch and getting really discouraged. She's in the Master's program for design at BYU. Her talent is ridiculous.

I keep having Batman dreams where the Joker kidnaps our investigators and we have to go rescue them. More than a year on my mission and still true to my roots. 

So, there's this Finnish cartoon character called Muumi and it's the funnest thing to draw on thank you cards. Unfortunately, I only know three Finnish people. 

I really enjoy the south. Weird accents and strange food, but so many beautiful things to see and so many cool people. Miracle of the week: I talked to a man on the street who was completely atheist and closed off for the first ten minutes of our conversation until he told me he did his studies at Georgia Tech. Insert cool bonding moment and voilà. He left with our card. Small world!