Fils d'israel en avant

veillons prions en tout temps.....



Hope of isreal.  in french.  im sure it is spelled differently, but I really really don't care.  Im sorry about the emails not coming last week, i didnt know the photos were too big.  im going to try and figure out how to take smaller photos, but honestly, i dont understand my camera.  i swear it speaks a different language than me.  In fact, if i had to choose between 789674587876 MPGs language and french, id understand the french much better.  On the plus side i forgot my camera cord this week so no photos.  But extra next week, I promise.  Okay, on to some of the less interesting parts of my letter...



We're moving.  its a serious pain in the butt, because i unpacked less than two weeks ago.  Not only that but it means i have to leave huebert behind, and i was getting so used to him.  Poor buddy, he'll have to make new friends.  Maybe he'll convert them... becuase we sure as heck arent.  GAHHHHHHHHHHH........ they told me this would be hard, but i really had no idea.  Can anyone?  I imagine thats how life with heavenly father was.  "yeah Ill totally do it" but then we get here to earth and are like "crap.  really?"  But then we have faith and all gets better.  Oh yeah, but moving.  We are moving into the aparetment the elders have now because its smaller than the new one (they are the zone leaders so they are often hosting other elders in their place, so i GUESS they need the bigger one).  But we are allowed to stand in the doorway and look into their place/ our future home.  Its sooo tiny, but im really okay with that because its actually quite cozy.  Im looking forward to ironing on the dryer.  BUT at least we'll still have the dryer.  Count your blessings.  OH MAN though (something funny... everyone here speaks at least a little english, but the phrase they all love to say is "of man!"  It's freaking hilarious), the stairs up to the apartment are treacherous.  Like, i could easily kill someone just by asking them to go down the stairs to get the mail.  No joke.  Hey, thats actually not a bad idea..... jk, guys, jk.  I love my co^mpanion, Soeur Gappmeir.  We get along really really well.  She has the same sense of humor as me.  Like, she made me listen to one of our investigators (we say "ami de l'église" in french, so if i say ami youll get it) answering machine.  I guess she didnt understand what was going on because when it got to the part where it says "please leave a message for" and then you say your first and last name on the message?  well she did NOT get it, so she said "Pierrette..... foquet?"  I swear its hilarious, like shes not actually sure that her last name is foquet.  I love pierrette.  Shes hard to understand, but not because of the french.  She seriously changes subjects like shell die in three minutes so she has to say everything on her mind.



France is wonderful.  Im starting to genuinely love it and not just tell myself that its france so I have to love it.  There are little things that make this place so wonderful.  Like the fact that everyone has a dog; shoot, i swear some of the dogs have dogs!!!  But it's nice.  And you know that part on Ratatouille where the girl chef tells the red head that its the sound of a baguette that shows if its good or not??  Guess what.  Its true.  Yup.  Yumm, im getting hungry just thinking about (i ate that bread for you.  Sorry you had to miss it).



Some miracles for the week: i experienced the gift of tongues.  We gave a lesson with a member present earlier this week with an african woman named Scholar.  I guess they usually have lessons in english, but our member, Rodolph, didnt know enough english to express himself, so half of it was french.  Miracle: i didnt realize he was speaking french until the lesson was almost over.  No joke.  It was like "oh.  This isnt english.  But.... i know what hes saying...." Seriousement.  It was awesome!!!!!  Other miracle:  half of our RDV (RDV = rendez vous = appointments) fruged on us (meaning they stood us up  THATS FOR YOU SOUER ROUBICEK.  IN PARIS WE SAY FRUGED) and so we went porting (door to doors).  No one cared.  No one would talk to us.  Except the people who wanted to yell at us and tell us that there cant be a god because there are so meny bad people in the world.  Seriousement?  Get over that, people have the ability to make choices and do stupid things.  So this man yells at us for fifteen minutes, my companion is getting really irritated, and I say "okay.  well thats your choice.  I know that God loves you.  Good bye." and we walked off.  We then started discussing how there are people prepared for us, and there are people who arent.  And we cant let that man get to us because he wasnt prepared for us.  As wa are walking and saying this, we see a very cute old man shutting his gate in his front yard.  We both think "cool, lets talk to him," and then he says "hello!!"   In english.  We find out he is french, teaches german and english litterature to inmates and wants to come to our english class.  We tell him what time we hold it, and he says "oh no.  I have to work.  Well, maybe another time, when you find you have some free time, we could get together and speak about religion in english."  HAHAHA.... what??  Did he just set a RDV with US to talk about religion???  "its just an exchange, mind you.  I am a very devoute catholique."  SERIOUSEMENT????  We set up a RDV and we're teaching him tonight!!!  Its crazy those tender mercies!!!



I shall end this letter by saying i have met people who are looking fo the gospel and love their lord and savior, but will not open the book of mormon to save their lives.... even though doing that would save them.  Its a sad thing to see someone who wants to be close to god but wont accept the best way to do it.  Als bt telling a story about drunks in the Courtyard:

We got angry with the elders one evening, and decided to talk to them the next day.  So that night, I hear people yelling, hollaring, and singing in the courtyard outside my window.  In my half awake state, I think its the elders.  I seriously thought the elders were mad at us too and were outside our window yelmling at us.  Nope.  Just some drunks.  Gotta love em; unless they try to sit in your lap (true story) and then they are creepy.





OH YEAH.  Happy french memorial day.  THere were a ton of veterans herer in the normandy area for DDay.  It was such an honor to see it.  DONT I HAVE A RELATIVE WHO STORMED NORMANDY ON DDAY??  TELL ME THEIR NAME PLEASE!!!!  DAD THAT MEANS YOU.





Love, avec beaucoup d'amour et esperence,



Soeur Barros



PS zone conference this week.  Guess whos singing in it?  Soeur Gapp et  moi.  Hopefully I wont get sick like last time and have to bail out.  Anyway, its the olive tree ( i did NOT chose this song....  cliche) and it remindes me of kit playing it at home.  I liss you and love you all soooo much.