Let Me Live in a House by the Side of the Road

Cher Famille et Amis!

Happy Father's Day dad! I love you. I sent you a card..I know you're gonna love it. Also congrats Shep on your baptism! So proud of you bud. Yes, I got the package. Thank you so much! It was awesome. Btw, I bought scriptures because it would be cheaper for me to get them here so I'm gonna send home my quad and some other things I don't need. I got the memory cards.

So the broadcast is this Sunday and I'm pretty excited. I think I'm gonna wear my coral shirt with that white blazer so look for me in the choir :) We leave in EXACTLY a week! We're taking off around 5pm and getting to Paris the next day around noon. We have a 10 hour direct flight and there are 24 of us missionaries. It's gonna be quite the party.

Yes I'm taking my juice plus. Btw, I ran into Ben Hanes at the Health Center! Also I saw Tyler Aston. It was sooo cool to see him cuz I met him while he was on his mission years ago and now he got to see me on mine. So ironic, but so cool!

Look for an Elder Waller. He just flew out today to fl orlando mission. He's a funny kid.

Cool experience this week! I got a blessing from an elder in my zone. His name is Elder Esparza. He's from Germany. He speaks German, Spanish, a little English, and a little French. He gave me the coolest blessing and he was kinda nervous about it, so I said it was totally ok if he gave it to me in a different language. It was kinda weird at first because there were like 10 elders in the room just watching, but it turned out to be amazing. The Spirit was so strong. Even though I had no idea what he was saying, it was beautiful and perfect for me.

I've learned that the scriptures are so important for our salvation. I can't believe I've always had this amazing compass sitting on my desk and I never (and might not ever) truly understand the power and beauty of the scriptures. I could never live another day without reading them.

One of the most amazing blessings of being in the MTC is the opportunity to hear remarkably, musically talented missionaries sing/play instruments. Last night at the fireside, this elder sang a song called 'He Knows' It is one of the most beautiful songs! Ah I want that song! Look it up! :)

I was reading a talk, I think by President Hinckley, and I came across this beautiful poem and it really touched me:

"Let me live in a house by the side of the road,

Where the race of men go by-

The men who are good and the men who are bad,

As good and as bad as I.

I would not sit in the scorner's seat,

or hurl the cynic's ban-

Let me live in a house by the side of the road,

And be a friend to man."

At first I read it and thought that it was good and kept reading, but later I went back and studied it more closely. This message is a powerful one. We all live in the same world with other people just like us. We're all imperfect, so who are we to judge others when we sin every day as well. It's more important for us to put ourselves in situations where we interact and talk to people. And not just people. Everyone. We need to talk to everyone and be a friend to everyone.

"We have the power to invite Christ to come down every day from the heavens by acting in His name with the attributes and character He has." -Elder Bednar

We have the power to introduce others to Christ by simply acting how Christ would act. It's sad how often people all over the world can say so simply 'act like Christ' or 'wwjd' but really that is one of the most powerful thing we can do. We need to take it more seriously and say in every situation, 'What would Christ act/react in this situation?' I know I need to work on that. How much better would the world be as a whole if everyone all decided to take upon them the name and character of Christ.

As I near the close of my stay at the MTC I realize how incredibly blessed I've been with the trials I've had here. So many things at times seem to be going all wrong and somehow in the end I understand that my altered plan was the Lord's plan. Today, I was talking with someone in my zone about this at breakfast before we left for the temple. Sometimes it's really frustrating when life goes differently than you planned, but in the end we realize that our lives are going exactly how they're supposed to because God has a greater plan for us. Although it may not be easier, it will be better for us in the end. I'm so grateful for trials. I know I'm never grateful for a trial while I'm going through it, but in hindsight I can always see that it was for my benefit and Heavenly Father truly does know me better than I know myself.

Well, God bless you all! Next week's email will be short because I'll be leaving for Paris Monday so we have a LOT to do to prepare! Love you all!

Stay righteous, be true, be you!

Avec amour,

Soeur Berge