Wow. What an incredibly inspiring week. There are so many things to talk about, and not nearly enough time to talk about them all, so I'm just going to share a couple feelings and impressions from this week.
I was amazed this week by the opportunity I have to work with so many amazing people. I am so grateful that just in the last couple days I got to teach Therese, Virginie, Thierry, Mireille, Calista, and Marie Monnin. To you they might be just names, but to me they are God's children who are learning to know Him. Some of them are just learning to really pray, and some of them have been searching for this truth for a long time. I'm so grateful for the ways in which they have touched my life, and I hope that I was able to make an impact in theirs.
I'm also just filled with joy because of the opportunity I have to serve in this beautiful country. I loved the cultural celebration on Saturday night and the opportunity that the youth had to come together and celebrate their country and their heritage. The celebration was centered around a motif of the light of the gospel and the heritage of faith that has existed in France for hundreds of years. Every cathedral, every small village chapel, all the pilgrims and reformers and monarchs and intellectuals have all been built on a foundation of faith that has existed here for a long time. A lot of people have abandoned that tradition. We are now here to show them the way to return to God and to find even more light.
We were encouraged and had the opportunity to attend all three sessions of the temple consecration on Sunday. The Mulhouse chapel became a part of the temple on that day, and I was grateful for the opportunity I had to sit in the chapel and just feel calm and at peace. The consecration was powerful, and I'm just so happy for the members here in France. It seems like I've been waiting for the temple to be consecrated ever since I got my mission call, but there are members here who have been waiting and praying for this day for the last 20 years. I think of my mission president and his wife, who grew up and were converted to the gospel within the boundaries of this mission. Their faith that one day the promised blessings of the Lord would be fulfilled is incredible to me. In the cornerstone of the temple is placed the testimonies of the French members. The temple is an amazing symbol of the faith of the French members, and I'm just overjoyed to have had the opportunity to witness this wonderful event.
This incredible week finished with a missionwide conference with Elder Neil L Anderson. It was so incredible to be able to shake his hand, to sit sometimes only an arm's length away from him as he addressed us, and to be able to learn from this servant of the Lord. He specifically talked to us about the words in the dedicatory prayer, in which the missionaries of France were blessed in their work. The dedicatory prayer is given by revelation, which means that it's like scripture. He helped us to understand that it was a very real blessing that was bestowed upon us at the time of the consecration. It was also specifically mentioned that the hearts of the people we teach would be softened, and that the members of France would be blessed with additional courage to share the gospel with their friends. I feel like I'm only beginning to understand the wonderful blessings that the Lord will be giving us.
I just feel like I'm full of light. Between the theme of the cultural celebration, the Anderson conference, and the consecration itself, there seems to be more light and hope both in my busy life and in this troubled country. During the dedication, Elder Eyring spoke about light, and about how we can come to the temple to partake of the light of Christ. Temples really are beacons, and having a temple in France is going to bring so many blessings and so much light into the lives of the French people.
The next couple days are bringing a lot of change for me personally. I'll be leaving Mulhouse and going to Nantes to whitewash train! I'm so excited to meet my bleue and to get to know all the members over there. I'm most of all grateful for this wonderful, peaceful, and inspirational weekend that has prepared me to just love missionary work, to love my blue, and to do my best to love and serve the Lord.
D&C 50:24 That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.
I love you all, and hope you have a wonderful week.
Soeur Rogers
1-3. District photos take 2! The amount of transfers we have done... and the amount we have left!
4. Pfastattoise is a real word in case you didn't know
5-6. Some of the wonderful people that I got to see at mission conference!
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