8-15-2016 Rennes

Hello all!

Another crazy exciting week in the mission field! I can't believe that tomorrow marks 2 weeks that I've been in France! Everything is still pretty new and crazy, but taking it one day at a time definitely helps. We have had so many adventures this week, I hardly know where to begin! First thing to report is that our chaudière is fixed! We have hot water again, hallelujah! We're actually going to get a new chaudière because this one has broken so many times, so hopefully we won't have that problem again.

We had exchanges with our STL's, Soeur Simpson and Sœur Jones, in Brest. It was so awesome! I loved being by the ocean again. I got to go out contacting with them and find out how each person does things slightly differently. Sœur Simpson and I visited a recent convert named Aisha the first night and got to visit with her family. She had invited us, the elders, and the senior couple. It was a party! She had also invited a non-member friend to come to dinner, so we shared with her a message about the Book of Mormon, gave one to her, and invited her to begin reading it.
I also had a really cool experience contacting with Sœur Jones. We were able to speak to several really cool people and hear about miracles they had experienced in their lives. Definitely my favorite person that we met was a young woman named Blondie. She was so kind, open and honest about her faith in God. We shared with her the Joseph Smith story and a scripture from the Book of Mormon. I then had a really distinct impression that I needed to give her a Book of Mormon, and she accepted it and said she would start reading! The Spirit was definitely there when we were talking with her. We had a really positive experience, and Sœur Jones was able to fix a rendez-vous with her!

But the sisters in Brest aren't the only people with rendez-vous this week! We had two meetings this week with people we met while contacting. We scheduled them an hour and a half apart, but our first ami was way late. My first real lessons with amis, and they came at the same time! It actually turned out just fine. One of our amis is this amazing African woman named Soroya. She has been looking for the true church for a while- you might say she's a "golden investigator". She's a little bit hesitant because she's investigated so many different churches, but we have high hopes for her. The other investigator we taught this week is named Joanna. She is actually Polish, and speaks better English than French, so we usually teach her in English. So it actually worked out just fine to teach two lessons at the same time- Sœur Liard taught Soroya in French, and I taught Joanna in English! Joanna is so amazing. She is really in tune with the Spirit and very open to learning new things. She really wants to be a better mother for her 3 year old son. I taught just a simple lesson about how we want to help her come unto Christ, gave her a Book of Mormon in Polish, and invited her to be baptized. She thought about it for a little while, then said yes! We don't have a solid date yet because she's not sure when she'll have the time, but we're praying that she'll keep that commitment. 

We had the opportunity to go to Joy's house on Saturday to teach a lesson and have some lunch. We got to try fou fou! It was... really interesting. Only one of the elders managed to finish the whole plate. Sœur George promised me that we'll try to get some better fou fou soon. I really hope it's very different from what we had. Regardless, we all had a good time. 

The French is still progressing quickly, although of course not as quickly as I would like. I'll tell you, though- the gift of tongues is real! I'm nowhere near perfect, but I'm making less mistakes and talking more quickly when I speak, and I'm starting to understand a lot more when people are speaking, especially if it's not super quickly. It's nowhere near perfect, however. I had the rather terrifying experience of trying to translate in church yesterday! I was interpreting for one of the daughters of the American family in Young Women's yesterday. Luckily it was a very small class, so when I got lost, the teacher would stop and re-explain or say it in English. It was kinda crazy, but I was at least able to communicate the ideas to the girl. Fun fact: this family is from New Hampshire! They were in the Nashua stake before they moved to France. 

Last thing, I wanted to quickly share 2 scriptures I have loved this week. The first is in D&C 50:26 "He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all." This scripture has really helped me out this week because I know that I still have a lot of things to improve and a lot of progress to make. Nevertheless, I have been ordained of God, and He will help me to reach my full potential. 

The second scripture I want to share I have adapted a little to fit the situation. "If you love me, write me a letter." (John 14:15). I love hearing from everyone! My email hasn't changed, so if you have the time, I'd love to hear from you. That's about it for this week, love you all and have a fabulous week!

- Sœur Rogers