I heard that song, the Billy Joel one, at a train station this week. It made my day.
Sorry
for the delay this week, but we found out on Saturday night at like 9
PM that we were getting a mini missionary for three days and that our
PDAY had to be moved. Oh. Okay. We got one on Sunday night, and then
they gave us another one. Uhhhh..... okay? It was actually super fun,
but I was more than ready to have them gone by the end of the three
days. I spoke nothing but french (mostly) all day from Sunday evening
to Wednesday night. My brain hurt a lot and I took more advil those few
days than I have my whole mission. French isn't as hard to slip into
anymore. Last night we had three RDV's right in a row and so I spoke
nothing but french from 4 pm to 7h30 pm, and i didn't even think about
it. I have found that I don't really think about it now when I have to
speak french. I have dreamt in French, but it's still not super
natural. Alas, my life here is moving on.
BEFORE I FORGET: Melun might be getting whitewashed. There are 6
sisters going home this transfer, and Soeur Smart is going home for a
little while for some trial and legality stuff, so there are Four sister
cities getting shut down and there will be one trio. Our apartment is
big enough, and has been used before, for three people. Melun also used
to be an elders only ville. Soooo... president told me to get the area
book in order, becuase he might close melun down to sisters and send
elders in. It breaks my heart to think of that because my mind was
already set on staying here until christmas. But I may get shipped out
of here. Yikes! So, if you are thinking of sending mail, be aware that
my address might be changing in a week and a half.
Part of the reason I'd be sad to leave is really rooted in last night/ yesterday.
I've
written about Solo, our golden ami. He's the one who's malagash and
believes everything and kept all his church books from TEN YEARS AGO.
Well, a couple lessons ago, I invited him to baptism. He said he'd
think azbout it. But if he does it, he wants his whole family to do it,
and we hadn't met his family yet. He's trying to wean them off their
old church so that we can meet them and start teaching them. SO the
next lesson we talked about Authority, and he told us that he has
decided to be BAPTIZED!!! He says that he prays about it and thinks
about it, and when he lays in bed at night he feels like it's the right
thing to do. WHAT??!!! THIS IS FRANCE!!!! PEOPLE DON'T DO THIS!!!
AND THEN he said that he wants his whole family to be baptized "the way
Christ was baptized, so we can be sealed together forever." Oh my
goodness! But here's the catch, and this is why I haven't mentioned
this before: he wants to wait until his wife and youngest daughter are
back in France. Right now they are in Madagascar, overliooking the
building of their home. He said she "should be back before the end of
the year." Sad. Neither of us will be here, with my luck. But it was
super exciting. THen this Monday, having a little bit of time because
all of a sudden we were two companionships and not just one, me and my
mini went to his house to just pop by. Two of his kids were there. He
let us in and asked us to explain what we do and who we are to his
children. Then we prayed and he asked for more books that his kids can
read about the church. And that it's school vacation, so all of his
children will be at our rdv on thursday. Okay! We went yesterday, and
they were all there! Two lovely young adult women, a twelve year old
boy, and a four year old girl came in and greeted us all, and sat down.
He asked us to explain where our church comes from and our basic
beliefs. We did, and answered some of their questions. They all want
book of mormons in french now, and they are going to move their schedule
around to come to the baptisma on Sunday (we have Three eight year old
getting baptised on sunday, as well as our ami, Gaütan). And then Solo
announced to his family that he has decided to get baptised in our
church, and that he wants all of them baptised together, once they have
heard the lessons. Everyone was like "Uhhh, okay." It was amazing!
So, at the end of the year we may have a new family in the church!
That afternoon we had a RDV with Blaise, an african young man who
had just moved here from Strousburg (that's the geneva mission). He's
not always easy to get ahold of, and he is ALWAYS at least an hour late
(except for churc; he was nearly an hour early), but he finally got
there. We read through Mosiah 18: 8-11, and he declared that he needed
to be baptized. He wanted to make sure that his parents wouldn't hate
him for doing it (because he doesn't want to break to commandement
"honor thy father and thy mother"; seriously), but then he wants to be
baptized "the way Jesus was". He said he loves being active in the
church (which is amazing because he's not even a member yet) and that
this is what he wants. We gave him a "Principles of the Gospel" manuel
on Sunday, and by yesterday he had read all of it except the part about
marriage (because "that doesn't interest" him yet. Teehee). He read
through the law of chastity (which he hasn't been taught) and the law of
tithing (which he hasn't been taught) and said that he accepted them. I
believe next week we will be setting a date for his baptism. And he's
coming to the baptisms on Sunday. Ohhhh!!!
Then we had Joseph, who gives me the creeps, but soeur lee keeps
setting appointments with him. I will NOT be doing that if I stay here
after she leaves. He got a smack down from our member who knows his
bible SUPER well, which I personally believe was good for joseph
because he's always saying that he is like Jesus because he does nothing
but goo and gets nothing but trials. Oh give me a break. SO did Job,
and he didn't complaina as much as you do.
Then we had gautan. Hahah, I forgot to explain something. We had
NO members for these RDV's the night before, which is bad because we can
only teach a man if there are at leat three girls or three boys; we
can't be two and two in a building or room alone. So we both prayed
really hard and found some last minute additions. Soeur Monga came for
blaise, but then we found that our second member for Joseph didn't show,
so we asked her if she'd stay, and she said yes. Then it was gautan's
lesson and we told her she could leave because our other member showed
but she said "Is it okay if I stay?" Yes!!! It was alazing with gautan
because we're all so excited for his baptism which was postponed and
the spirit was trong and all I can say is this/
I am so lukcy to be here.
God lives.
He loves us.
And he watches out for us.
I
love you all!!! Please pray for the work here in the France Paris
mission!! We are trying to have a miracle here, but I am out of time so
I will explaiun it next week (which also will be a wednesday or
thursday but not monday).
LOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVEEEEEE
Soeur Kacey Barros
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