Picture Them in White!

Cher Famille !

Wow! What a week! Honestly, this week has been one of the best weeks of my life.

Monday we had an awesome FHE at the Harris’s. I was so happy Jeanne and Esperence could make it.

Tuesday night we rode into Paris to stay the night and I surprised Soeur Sorenson and didn’t tell her we were stopping by the Eiffel tower on the way to another sister’s apartment we were staying. It was incredibly fun even though it was only 5 minutes. She was so shocked! Love her

Wednesday was so awesome. We got to hear from Elder Kearon. And I got to see Soeur Wynn. So cool. Elder Kearon is so great. He took time to shake each of our hands and then gave us the best instructions ever. Seriously, it was one of the most incredible trainings ever. It just pumped Soeur Sorenson and I up. We called it ‘the Kearon kick’ haha. So, a cool experience..Elder Kearon asked President for two missionaries to help him with a demo and President gave him Soeur Sorenson and my name! WHAT?! So he calls us up on the stand and everyone is like ‘Oooh what did you do..’ haha it was funny, but he just had us demonstrate how we can’t contact if we aren’t smiling and happy. So first he made us act really sad when we ‘contacted’ him and then the second time he told us to do it again only how we are supposed to..so we get our big southern smiles on and he wouldn’t even let us open our mouths and just said ‘PERFECT!’ haha it was awesome and we felt really special..I’m sure it was totally random, but we still felt cool.

So, on Tuesday night Soeur Sorenson and I get a phone call from one of the AP’s and Elder Kearon would be interviewing about 4 missionaries..and I would be one of them…what? Yeah let’s just say when you have an interview with a general authority..you don’t sleep very well haha..but it was so incredible. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had and I will never forget it. He prayed at the end and just the power out of this awesome servant of the Lord just gave me chills. It’s amazing how much love you can feel from a general authority and just know that Heavenly Father loves you.

So part of Elder Kearon’s training was all about finding people and being bold. It was exactly what Soeur Sorenson and I needed because we have decided we need to find some new people to teach and be more bold with the amies who have kinda plateau’d. He asked us to think about the qualities in a missionary that are necessary to find people. As Soeur Sorenson and I discussed one of our fabulous Sister Training Leaders we came up with the conclusion that ‘you make the gospel a part of your life, so when you give yourself to the people , you are giving them the gospel.’ We must strive to always incorporate the gospel into every aspect of our lives. That way when people see you, they also see the beauty of the gospel.

Thursday we had an awesome lesson with Philbert at the Karsenty’s. They did a wonderful job at answering his question about why we do the baptisms for the dead and we even extended a baptismal invitation. He didn’t say no, but it was an incredible lesson and we are beginning to see a change in his heart. He said he agreed with everything we were saying and he seemed to really take in the lesson, which was incredible. Soeur Karsenty is just an incredible teacher. Plus she loves genealogy and Philbert makes incredible and elaborate family trees that are huge. Soeur Karsenty got so excited and they already began planning one out. So neat to see how both are profiting from Philbert learning the gospel and both are bringing each other closer to the Savior.

Later we had a wonderful lesson with Jeanne trying to get her ready for her baptism.

Friday we saw Fanny! We gave her a church tour and she is so sweet. We introduced the Book of Mormon and she said she would read and pray! We will see with her. She is awesome and I hope she felt the Spirit.

Later we had an awesome FHE at the Hemons with our ami Yannick. They did a great job and the Spirit was so strong. Yannick even said, “I never knew this existed. I had no idea that there were French families here in France that sat down to discuss the gospel.” He was so touched by incredible Spirit! It was awesome.

Saturday we had Jeanne’s baptism and it was wonderful! The bishop’s wife in Nantes that Jeanne absolutely loves just made everything so beautiful! She set up this wonderful little buffet and just decked the whole thing out for Jeanne. Jeanne was so nervous, but I know with all my heart she was ready and she knew of the importance of her baptism. She received the Holy Ghost on Sunday, and she was just in tears because she has one of the strongest testimonies. It touched me even more to see Esperence come out and support her for her baptism. Absolutely wonderful. She was just glowing and my heart was overfilled with so much joy for her to be cleaned of all before.

I just love being here and I love seeing someone completely change. I remember when Jeanne first heard the lessons and was unsure and as she decided to open her heart and find the truth for herself, that is when her faith just blossomed. She will truly be a wonderful addition to the branch. The branch is her family now and she could not be any happier. I can’t express how happy I am to see her finally find the truth..to find her family and to find true joy. And it all began when she opened her heart and allowed the Savior to heal her. I love her so much. We just have to keep the vision of seeing everyone wearing white. See people for not who they are or what they do, but for what they can become. :)

Also, today rocked because I got to spend the whole day with my buds, Soeur Wynn, Soeur Sorenson, and Soeur Thibault!! Crazy day. We have just been running around all day! Pictures will come next week :) :)

Well that’s about it for this week..it was jammed pack, yet so rewarding and absolutely incredible. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else! Life is awesome!

GROS BISOUS

Soeur Berge

We put the B in BOLD and the A in ATTITUDE

Bonjour errbody!

First off, wow I can't believe little JJ has cancer! Poor guy. He will be in my prayers! TEAM JAY! He is strong, he got dis :) can I get a bracelet or two? or a shirt or something to support him in France?

This week was wonderful as always as a missionary for the true church of Jesus Christ.

This week we've just been doing a lot of prepping for Jeanne's baptism next Saturday. Although we did have some cool experiences.

Tuesday we saw Mme Juget and she is finally starting to open up. We read 3 Nephi 11 with her and afterwards said, "Well that's the same doctrine that's in the Bible."  Well of course it is. :) It's another testimony of Jesus Christ and it also the true word of God. Lately I've been sharing one of my favorite points from Elder Tad R. Callister's talk about the Book of Mormon:

"The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite.

For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church.

What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses."

It just makes so much sense why we have the Book of Mormon and I think Mme Juget is really starting to recognize it's truthfulness.

Soeur Sorenson and I decided to be bolder this week. We felt impressed to stop by the 'ping pong' family. Well when we got there, all the lights were off and I started thinking maybe I misread the Spirit. Well, nope, the Spirit is always right. Soeur Sorenson, luckily, was listening and said to me, "Soeur Berge, what if they are home and are ready for the gospel! It doesn't hurt to just ring the doorbell." Before I could say anything my little stubborn, southern, wonderful companion rang that doorbell..you could say it was a 'celestial sonner' (shout out Soeur Wynn ;) Literally a few seconds after she rung the bell, the house lights up! The dad came to the door, laughs, and says, "Oh no you again? I already told you I'm not coming to your church" haha so we started off just seeing how he and the family was doing and then he says, "You know, I searched that website that was on your card!" (this never happens) He then explained that he thought our religion was a little strange. Well, turns out he thought we were Amish. So we explained and cleared some things up (the Amish are wonderful people by the way, we just aren't Amish). So he continues to tell us how he read about how us missionaries leave our countries for 18 months or 2 years. And then I felt really bold and the Spirit was just poking and poking so I said, "Monsieur, do you know WHY I am not in my country right now?" and he goes, "Why?" And I say, "Because our message is true." His demeanor kind of changed and we began testifying of the truth of the gospel. He then says, "Yeah, but I already told you I'm not interested.." But the Spirit told us to not quit! so then I say, "I have a present for you."  haha and then I whip out the Book of Mormon and told him it was the proof that we have the truth. We explained what the Book of Mormon was and we asked him to read and pray and he said he would! It was the coolest experience! and to think it all started with ping-pong..I'm so grateful for my awesome companion who listened to the Spirit and for the Spirit prompting us to not give up!

Later we met Yannick for the first time at the church with Frere Poisbeau and Frere Hemon. It was such a cool lesson. Yannick is from Gabbon and has so much faith. He is already so believing. I really learned so much from just listening to his own testimony he had about God and how He answers prayers. We shared the message of the restoration and encouraged him to come to church. He is struggling with coming to church, but he accepted a baptismal invite, so now it's up to him to do his part to find the answers and find the truth.

Wednesday we had a really strange experience. We call it, "Fanny Fanny Double Wammy." So after our RDV with Jeanne, we were waiting at the bus stop. We had about 14 minutes before our bus came and there was a girl sitting on the bench waiting for the bus. So I went and sat next to her and started talking to her. She told me she wasn't believing, but she loves life. She really loved to laugh. She laughed at just about everything I said..and I'm really not that funny. But she was really nice. Her name is Fanny. While were testifying that our Heavenly Father loves us, this lady walks up and asked us something about the bus. She sees Soeur Sorenson's plaque and says, "Jesus Christ!! I'm converted too! How do you pray? Why are you so happy! Teach me how to pray?!" Turns out she is a little off because she was in an accident a while ago. She was..interesting. She then looks at Fanny and she's like "Where's your badge?" And we explained that Fanny was a friend. She then starts telling Fanny how important it is to believe. I could just see Fanny's face and I know she was thinking, "What the heck is going on right now?" We then got on the bus and sat next to Fanny. This lady then gets on and comes and sits next to us 3 and continues to ask us to help her with her life and she said she wanted to come to church. After a while she then introduces herself, "Oh by the way, my name is Fanny." WHAT?! I have never met a Fanny in my life and now I've met two Fanny's. So crazy Fanny then looks around the bus and sees a man right next to us and said, "Are you believing? WE HAVE TO BELIEVE!" She then proceeds to preach to the whole bus, "EVERYONE WE NEED TO BELIEVE IN GOD!" It was something else. And this whole time the Fannys think that the other Fanny is with us. Too many Fanny's in one place. What a night. In the end we bonded with Fanny #1 and actually got a rendez-vous with her haha I guess you could say we have a special bond :) 

Friday we took Jeanne to Cagund, a ville about 1 hour and 1/2 away so she could meet with the bishop's wife in Nantes. Jeanne really wanted to hear the gospel in her own language before he baptism so the wonderful Harris couple drove us all the way over there..and boy was it worth it. Jeanne just felt so comfortable and loved by this awesome lady from Madagascar. Then Soeur Josephson went through all the lessons in Malagasy..what a beautiful language. The coolest part was, I could understand everything they're were saying. Gift of tongues is real! The Spirit was so strong and Soeur Josephson is one of the nicest ladies. You could just feel angels in the room assisting us with Jeanne. Throughout Jeanne's whole conversion process, I know there have been angels helping us get her ready for baptism. It was an incredible lesson and after Jeanne felt at such ease. Soeur Josephson then told her she was part of her family now and she is welcome to come and stay over whenever she wanted. Jeanne just started crying because she explained how lonely she has been since her divorce and how it has been so hard not having any family who live by her. She then said that the church is her family and she knows this is the right path for her. Wow so cool! On top of that The Josephsons are just incredible. They helped translate part of the Doctrine and Covenants into Malagasy for the church and she testified that as she and her husband were translating they would begin to cry because it was so beautiful and they knew that those were the words God chose in Malagasy. So cool!! Talk about modern day Joseph Smith! 

Saturday we had the baptismal interview and she came out glowing. She was so happy about everything. She chose Elder Harris to baptize her and he is going to say it in Malagasy. So cool. Jeanne is helping him with the pronunciation. 

This week we also passed by the Lesouef's so I could have one of my favorite doctors tell me what's wrong with my feet. It's definitely Haglund's but he said that it wasn't a big deal and he said they could go away if I don't wear shoes that inflame the tendon. But I just love the Lesouefs! Seriously so awesome. We haven't been able to see them in a while because they are insanely busy. Prayers that they will be more free and open to the message.

Thank you all for your support, love and prayers! We see miracles every day and I am so grateful to be serving here at this moment and time. This gospel is true and I just want everyone to hear it; it's so wonderful! :)

Have a great week!

ALSO- next week's email won't be very long because Soeur Sorenson and I will be in Paris next P-day so have a great week! Talk to ya in 2!

GROS BISOUS

Soeur Berge

There's a Change in the Air of Saint-Nazaire!

bOnJoUr tout le monde!

First off, can't believe I hit 8 months this week..the time is flying..

This week was great! Last Monday we started off the week with an awesome FHE with most of the branch members at the Harris's. The Harris couple put on FHE every other week and it is always a blast. Their daughter and her family flew in as well and we got to meet them. The Harrises are awesome! I love them.

Tuesday, we had our district meeting and district picture. Can't believe this transfer is done already. Feels like just yesterday I was going to pick up my bleu and best friend, Soeur Sorenson. I can't even begin to say how much fun it has been to serve with her. We are constantly laughing and having a blast. She reminds me a lot of Soeur Wynn and it always takes me back to my bleu days and all the fun I had with Soeur Wynn. 

Later that day we went to Jeanne's. We talked to her about how our faith doesn't have to be a perfect knowledge and that acting on faith allows us to grow it. After, we gave her a talk in Malagasy and she was sooo happy! She loved it and was so excited to read it! We tried to set a date for baptism with her and she just wouldn't do it. She is just so scared to commit, but she is totally ready.

Wednesday was a crazy day. We had an rdv with Mme Juget. It's been so long since we have seen her because of the holidays and her sister is really sick, but we finally got to see her. We talked about the Book of Mormon and the power it has and shared the Mormon message about the Book of Mormon which she really liked. She said that it didn't inspire her and that it doesn't do anything for her. This is so heartbreaking for me, because I know the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God and brings me so much joy and happiness that it's so sad she isn't allowing her heart to be touched by the word of God. She did say however that maybe her prayers about the Book of Mormon weren't sufficient and she will try again. Lots of prayers for her!

Next we saw Philbert. I struggle to understand anything he says, but he is still awesome. We went with the Karsentys. We showed him and his daughter the restoration film. The Spirit was so strong, but I think he really struggles to open his heart and ears to the truth because of his previous beliefs. He says he will continue reading and maybe trying to pray. We need prayers for him as well that he will open his heart to the message of truth.

Later we saw Tituoan! We watched the Restoration film with him and he loved it. He loves the Book of Mormon and he says he is going to pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. Such a cool kid. His parents kinda participate, but we are going to try and include them more. They fed us an awesome meal and we had a great conversation with them. They are seriously such cool people. 

Thursday was a bit of a struggle. I really didn't feel so great and had a half-sick day. We did get to see Esperence and we made the coolest 10 commandment game for Anthony and we gave it to them and they loved it. She is such a wonderful recent convert. Yesterday, she said the prayer in Relief Society and she just got right up there and did it. So great. So proud.

Friday was super rough. Soeur Sorenson and I went porting for like 3 hours and literally not one person would listen to us. It was rough, but I know it wasn't for nothing. The cookies just weren't done cookin..very gooey people for sure..(ref my amie-cookie analogy) 

Saturday was our miracle day! We stopped by our amie, Marguerida who we haven't seen in so long. She only speaks Portuguese, so it's quite difficult to communicate. But she was finally home this time when we stopped by and she was so excited to see us. We left for her a Portuguese Book of Mormon and told her it was true and to read it and we somehow set up a rdv for Wednesday. The gift of tongues is real. I have no idea how we talked to her, but hey, the Lord ALWAYS provides a way. C'est vrai.

Then we had the coolest experience! We were on our way home when we saw these two ladies trying to get 10 huge bags full of stuff to this apartment. We offered to help and so we helped them take the stuff up there. Then the moving truck showed up..haha So we helped this lady and her family move into their new apartment which is literally a few doors down the street. It was so fun and we got to know them and got their number and told them who we were. They were so appreciative of our help and we are so excited to see them hopefully soon. The wife is from Morocco and is so cool. She explained that she is Muslim and she is just the nicest lady. 

Later, we decided to take a bus out into a different city for a change of scenery. We went out to Pornichet and La Baule. It was GORGEOUS! What a neat place. There a super long beach with tons and tons of surfers! Soeur Sorenson and I just about died. We wanted to throw on a wet suit and join them..but we decided to contact people instead. :) After not much success we saw this adorable little shop with such cool stuff inside. We were freezing and went inside for a minute. We also needed to ask directions to walk back to the bus stop. So I asked this lady that was walking around and she ended walking us all the way back (several several blocks) and she was amazing! She is an acupuncture doctor and she said she was currently struggling with something, but she knows she can be healed soon with faith. We talked to her for so long and she said that her life has been hard with her daughter and she was so sweet. We exchanged numbers and we are going to see her soon. She offered to drive us all the way back to Saint-Nazaire because she just wanted to kill time and distract herself, but we took the bus because we had lots to do. She is just adorable and we can't wait to see her. You can just tell she is suffering emotionally and after we talked to her there was a whole new light in her eyes! 

Later on the bus we tried talking to this really cool girl from London who is here studying. She was with her mom I think and she was so cool. We talked to her about church and God and Jesus Christ and she was so sweet. We tried to exchange numbers and she really wanted to know what we believe, but her mom wouldn't let us even give them a card and she was quite rude. It hurt a LOT more being rejected in English than French. It made me so grateful that I am not in an English mission. It just heart my heart to hear them reject this wonderful message. 

Later we had a lesson with Jeanne. What a lesson. We began by talking about the talk we had left for her and she just LOVED it. Then she began testifying to us about how she knows God is her Father and that this is the true church. We made a huge board of all the lessons because she told us it was hard to remember everything. So we made this huge poster with all the lessons and everything she should know before baptism and boy did that help. She loved it. We went over all the lessons and points and she totally got it. It was incredible! Then she tells us that Heavenly Father answered her prayers and she is ready to be baptized. She finally chose a date. At first we chose the 8th of February and she thought that was a little fast..then our awesome member, Hortense showed up (who is one of Jeanne's best friends now) and we found out that Hortense wouldn't be able to make her baptism because of work. Then Jeanne wanted to push it back a week, but Hortense told her to just push it up for the 1st of February and we encouraged her that it would be a wonderful day and she would be ready..and then..she AGREED! WHAT?! So now Jeanne will be baptized on the 1st of February and confirmed a member on the 2nd. Yesterday, they announced it in church and everyone is so excited for her. She is really part of the branch already. I am so happy for her. It is just incredible to see the change in her. Being there from her first lesson with us and now to watching her enter the waters of baptism and make this wonderful covenant with Heavenly Father will just be incredible. Now we just have to make sure the bishop in Nantes can baptize her because he is from Madagascar and Jeanne wants it to be in Malagasy which will be so cool. We are so excited!

I love Saint-Nazaire and I love serving these incredible people.The area has really progressed a lot and I have seen such a change and new enthusiasm in the members. This is really the time for this branch to blossom and we know it can happen.

I am so grateful for the blessings and comfort of the gospel. What joy it is to be a member of the true church of Jesus Christ. How amazing that our brother gave His life for us, for our struggles, for our sins, for our hardships. Because He loves us. 

I love you all and wish you all a wonderful week!

GROS BISOUS

Sœur Berge