So Long Rouen, Lookin' Fancy, Nancy

Hey errbody!

So this week was really fast!

The beginning of the week I made the rounds and had some warm embraces to some of my favorite peeps in Rouen. I love that ville so much. So unique, but so much fun! Those members are so passionate and love church. I'm really going to miss them. So now I'm in the one and only Nancy. What's even wierder is I'm with Soeur Lefrandt. It's just so strange because sometimes I feel like I'm back in Nogent and still really young, and then Soeur Lefrandt blows me away with her French skills and amazing testimony. She has grown so much on her mission. I remember she always had such a strong testimony and great love for the people, but now I just feel like she is moving mountains and it's crazy to see how a year can really shape and mold someone. She's awesome and we are having such a blast! I love everything about life right now. This ward is just adorable and we actually have a building! It's such a difference from how I've served for the past 9 months of my mission. It's been little branches and church in an office with cubicles and an old catholic nunnery, so I'm really excited for a little change. Don't get me wrong, I love Saint-Nazaire and Rouen, but this church building is so big! They've been having a lot of construction though, so its not quite at it's finest, but once their done with all the construction it will be really nice.

So Wednedsay was the big transfer day! I was so sad to leave Rouen and Soeur Johns after spending so much time there and spending the last 3 months of my mission with Soeur Johns. She is such a close friend of mine and I will never forget all our memories and good talks. Love that girl. I'm glad you all had fun meeting each other! The pictures look so awesome  I packed my bags and headed off to Paris to meet my old-new companion, Soeur Lefrandt. It's not very common for old companions to be put back together, so we were both super shocked, but life is just so good right now. We have seen so many miracles this week I don't know where to begin!

So after we came back to Nancy, we visited Judith and her family. It's been a while since she's been at church so we taught her and her cute daughter, Ines. Precious family! We shared the Family Proclamation and the spirit was so strong as we testified of eternal families. What a precious gift families are and the peace we find in knowing we can be together forever. 

Thursday we saw a cute girl named Olivia that came to the baptism that Soeur Lefrandt and her comp had before I got here. We taught her right outside this gorgeous cathedral and shared our testimonies of Joseph Smith and the restored gospel. After the lesson Soeur Lefrandt and I just looked at each other because of how natural our lesson felt. We get tripped out all the time when we realize we are companions again, it's so fun! But Olivia is so sweet and we are hoping to see her this next week.

Later we went contacting on the way to a member's house. Then we had a really nice dinner with them. These members are so nice too. French people are so sweet. I love the family Mangeat! They were so funny. We had such a big miracle on the way there. So we were both a little confused about where we were going because Soeur Lefrandt had never been there. We finally got to this random bus stop we were supposed to be. We had about 15 minutes so we stopped this girl named Fernanda. She is from Equador (where Soeur Lefrandt's twin sister is serving) and she was so sweet! We got her number and then taught her the next day!

So Friday..we were headed home for dinner and on our route we saw a big family..we had to sieze that opportunity and it was this cute African family that were really believing. We prayed with them and the little girls were so excited we got their number. Fingers crossed for them! :) Later we met with Fernanda. What a miracle. Soeur Lefrandt and I were trying to find her, but we couldn't figure out which metro stop she was at..finally we got a text saying she was just gonna head home. She had just come out of a movie and we really wanted to meet up with her after. So we bolted to the next metro stop where we thought she would be. We got there and sure enough she was there..laughing at how ridiculous we looked running around trying to find her in skirts haha..not normal..but we took the metro and taught her about the Book of Mormon..we then realized we were dumb and shoulda brought a Spanish one for her. She told us she was leaving for a small trip for a few days the next morning at 7 so we told her we do exercises in the morning and we could run to the gare before her train and give her the Book of Mormon...which is excatly what we did! MIRACLE! Fernanda is so sweet. She was a nurse in Equador and told us how hard it was to see so many people die because the doctors and medicine isn't the best over there. She told us how dark of a world it is to watch people pass away while their families become so sad. She has such a big heart and loves serving people. She told us we had such light in her eyes and she wants that inner peace we had. We hope she is reading that Book of Mormon on her trip!

Saturday the ward had a BBQ and it was fun to meet all the members. They are so cooky here I love it! It was super fun and also unforgettable...they had these fun games to play afterwords. So they thought it would be really funny to make Soeur Lefrandt and I play this game where you string a potato onto your waist and the potato hangs between your legs. There were little cars on the ground and the goal of the game is to get your potato to hit the car across the finishline. Overall, I was way too tall, I had a skirt on, and I came in dead last 10 minutes after everyone else and the ward was cheering me on for 10 minutes straight so how could I quit right? I guess it was a good laugh, but pictures will NOT be included haha

Later we saw a family in the ward from Egypt. They are so nice. Their son isn't a member so we are teaching him. He is really cool and has such desire to know and learn. He has awesome questions! 

Sunday was so fun! I'm not used to having more than 5 people in Relief Society so being surrounded by 15 took me a second to get used to. These members are so cute. So here's the biggest miracle of the week and my favorite..Soeur Lefrandt and her previous companion were stopped by the gare a week ago by this Armenian lady who is 70 years old and the cutest thing you've ever seen. She told them she was a member in her broken Enlgish so she came to church! I've never seen a bigger smile as she walked around showing everyone her temple recommend because she couldn't communicate with us or them. She is just the funniest woman ever! She was glowing all Sunday. So in our Sunday School class the subject was the Word of Wisdom. We showed her pictures of fruits and veggies and it clicked for her as she loudly proclaims in her broken english, "NO COFFEE, NO ALCOHOL, NO TEA, NO DRUGS, NO TOBACCO!" She was so happy and held my hand all through sacrament even though she couldn't understand anything. She just had the biggest smile. She said her husband left her and so she's been in France for a month but never found the church until she saw the sisters walk by her. She has almost nothing yet is so sweet and giving. She even gave me an orange because she wanted to say thank you. Love her. We are hopefully seeing her this week as well.

Later we saw the newest member of the ward, Irenes. The Sisters here were teaching her a lot and she got baptized last week. She's about 17 years old and was a little sad from some circumstances and we taught her about gratitude. She was a lot happier after we left. She is such a funny girl and has her head on straight. She is from Centre Afrique and showed us all these pictures from when she lived in Africa before she moved to France. She is just beautiful inside out.

Later we went porting..knocking on doors..for the rest of the night and it was so fun. Soeur Lefrandt and I were let into this one lady's house and she was a bit older and smoking a cigarette when we knocked. She just told us to come right in and she took one look at our tag's and saw Jesus Christ...then she looked at the cigarette in her hand and got a sad face and said she would go put out her cigarette! HAHA! We hadn't even said anything to her yet..it's cool to see how people just know things are wrong and when they feel the spirit, they know what they need to do. We sang a song and prayed with this adorable lady, Denise as she told us how hard her life has been since she just lost her husband and her aunt. She was so grateful we came in. She had a super nice apartment and is such a classy French lady. We're really pumped to teach her more about the Plan of Salvation in the future. What a miracle!

Well this church is true, Nancy is awesome, and I couldn't be happier doing the Lord's work here in France. These people are incredible. I never cease to be amazed by the faith of the strangers I meet that then become family. We are all God's children and that is the biggest reason for us to hope. Soeur Lefrandt and I have been studying a lot of Christlike Attributes in Preach My Gospel and I encourage you all to study the life of Christ a little more in your lives. Take time to think about who He is and grow your personal relationship with Him. I love you all! Have a WONDERFUL week! 

GROS BISOUS

Soeur Bergère 

BBQ, Openhouses, and Hikes

Bonjour TOUS!

So this week was incredible! But I do have some news! I will be moving to Nancy this week and I will be comps with...SOEUR LEFRANDT! Again! I'm so excited! It's crazy that a year ago we served in Nogent and now we're serving together again and I couldn't be more excited. I was so shocked when I found out. I never thought I'd get to serve with any of my companions again. It's not common at all so I am so excited to work with her again!

So this last week began with an FHE with the Bitangas. LOVE THEM! 

Tuesday we watched a conference talk with Ludivine and it went really well. She liked listening to the prophet and she loved the stories. I'm so grateful conference talks always upilft us and I raelly think she felt the Spirit. She's been pretty busy this week though.

Later we went to our lesson with Daniel..but he was in Belgium..sad..but it's ok. They are still really interested and wonderful, so hopefully in the future they can go to church.

Wednesday was one of the craziest days of my life! So we had a wonderful conference with President and Soeur Babin. They are so wonderful! I am so excited to hear their ideas and direction for the mission. They are so sweet and so funny. We all had interviews with our companions with them and Soeur Johns and I thought we would be clever and describe each other instead of presenting ourselves. We are like sisters now so it was so funny as they asked us questions and we would answer for each other. I'm so sad to leave Soeur Johns. We have had such a blast together these past 2 transfers. 

Later after our awesome conference, we went straight to Mantes La Jolie. The are 4 elders in that ville and they had a big openhouse for their church and their bishop wanted sister missionaries to be there so they called and got permission for us to come and help with their openhouse. It was SO FUN! We got there and there was a TON of people. The members there were the cutest. They were handing out fliers, calling out to people left and right, testifying so strongly, and brought so much life to the open house. Our hearts were overflowing with love and the Spirit as we bore our hearts out to strangers for 4 hours straight. It was pure joy! There were a few people that stick out in my mind from that evening. Soeur Johns and I were contacting this lady and she wasn't really interested, but there was a guy that saw our card in her hand and stopped. So we talked to him and took him back to the church and gave him a tour with 3 youth members that were participating and taught him the most intense lesson ever. He was just thirsting for the truth and had so many questions. It was awesome. There was also this little family with 3 girls and they just loved the church. I sat down with the two youngest girls and told them that God loved them and they said they would pray and their eyes were just BEAMING in awe. They were the cutest little girls!! The Spirit was so strong that entire day and I think between the 3 teams of missionaries there was about 9 lessons total which is incredible. Then Soeur Johns and I went home completely exhausted from running around all day!

Thursday was really fun too. We did service for Soeur Bachelet in her garden again and then we had a BBQ picnic with her and some of the members. It was so yummy and so fun. This ville is THE service ville! We are always doing service for people and it always feels so good especially when you end your service with a BBQ , sliced watermelon, and good company.

Later, we prepared a dinner and an FHE for Milady and her kids. It was Maxime's birthday and he was turning 8! What a wonderful age :) So we brought them pancakes, egg pop overs, and hash browns for a breakfast dinner and we sang I am a Child of God and explained what the words in the song mean. It was so fun. Maxime LOVED his birthday dinner and we loved sharing it with him. He also loves talking about God and Jesus and he even prayed at the end for us. PRECIOUS! It's crazy that these kids just don't have much background of God and Jesus Christ, but we are so happy to teach them and watch them soak up the gospel like a sponge. We ended the FHE with a fun game and boy what a fun day! Milady even told the kids that this time when they go to church they are coming for all 3 hours of church!

FRIDAY-HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY ERBODY! We visited Nina and talked with her about patience over her wonderful beignets! She gave us scarfs as gifts and she is just the sweetest!

The day ended with Branch Counsel and us singing loud and proud our national anthem for these frenchies..they think we are crazy. We even walked home singing patriotic songs and some punk teenager started cursing at us so we put our little flags away....safer that way..haha

Saturday was nuts! We had an awesome hike with the relief society and it was SO FUN! Beautiful hike! I love these members. We all had a blast singing hymns marchin in the woods and then it ended with a yummy picnic and games joining up with the young men. We all had so much fun. I can't get over how much I love these members.Then we finished the day visiting Eva Panou and Barbara with a FHE. LOVE THEM!

Yesterday we had church and Milady and her kids came all three hours and loved it. The elders invited somoene to come to church the next day and passed her to us. Her name is Grace and she is from Lebanon. She is so nice and was also a bit confused during church, but it was still great and the Spirit was strong. Teclaire even told us she went to church with her member friend in Paris! So awesome. 

Then the day ended with us going with the Bertrands to their house to have a spend the evening with the Bertrands, Soeur Bertrand's sister's family who also moved into the branche, the their friends the Barbiers (Vanessa from the wedding) We had so much fun playing with the kids and hanging out with my favorite family ever, the Bertrands. We had a really good time and even had a really bold conversation explaining eternal families and what the knowledge of the gospel brings to our lives as members of God's church. It brings us hope, peace, joy, and everlasting happiness with those we love. The Spirit was so strong and it was overall just an awesome day.

I will truly miss Rouen. I just love this place with all my heart. These members will always have a special place in my heart and I thank Heavenly Father that I had the priviledge to serve here and meet some life-long friends.

All in all, the theme this week was the gospel blesses families, marriages, relationships, friends, and everyone who seizes the opportunity to take hold of the iron rod, obey the commandments, and find no greater joy than serving our brothers and sisters. This church is true because it asks us to go beyond our human capacities and become like Christ. Everyday we are faced with temptation, little or big, and we have to choose to make the efforts necessary or be lazy and give in. I encourage you all, DON'T GIVE IN! Just keep on keepin on. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and there is joy for those who grasp the gospel of Jesus Christ and endure to the end. I love you all. Have a good week!

GROS BISOUS

Sœur Berge

Gardening, Cleaning, Traveling, and Miracle Witnessing Week

Bonjour!

This past week started off with an awesome FHE with all the single adults at the church and some of our amis. The elders even had an ami come! We had a really good turn out. Soeur Johns and I taught the Plan of Salvation and we had a big meal together. Eric and Veronique came and they get along with the members so well and they loved learning about the plan of salvation! After, Eric had so many questions and had so much faith already that this plan is truly God's plan for us. SO COOL!

Tuesday we had district meeting and saw Nina and talked about knowledge. She said she has been reading the Book of Mormon! What progress! She says she really tries to make time for it and she's progressing little by little. We also saw Leila Kalobe...we're not sure she's super interested anymore. sad! Also saw Ludivine and that was an interesting lesson. She was really emotional and something was off. We read the Joseph Smith History with her so she could understand his complete story in more detail so she could sincerely pray on the subject, but she really didn't want to open up. Towards the end she told us she was pregnant and she had been nervous to tell us. We told her we were so happy for her and that nothing could stop her from progressing and committing to living the commandments and progress towards baptism. She was pretty relieved and we told her she really needs to pray concerning Joseph Smith because the truthfulness of this church weighs on whether he was a prophet and called of God. Because it really does.

Wednesday we helped Soeur Bachelet with her garden and it was SO FUN! I love service projects. The elders also came and it was so much fun. Soeur Johns and I watered and picked rasberries. We were supposed to pick them and put them in the bucket, but I think most of them fell out...into our mouths..they were SO YUM!

Later we did some finding and knocked some doors. We only had time to knock two doors. WOW! The first guy didn't speak much French so we said we'd stop by the next day to give him a Book of Mormon in Portuguese. The second doorbell was a reply from a young guy leaning out his window to find me and Soeur Johns offering to pray with their family. He came out with his sister and they let us come in. Her name is Christelle and she is 23 years old and has one of the strongest testimonies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. She told us her mom was away in Africa for a bit and they were watching the house. She said her mom had consecrated their house to prayer so if anyone came by offering to pray, they have to accept! So cool! We prayed and explained the organization of the church. It was so cool to see how this girl, our age, had such great faith that you don't see everyday. They are really firm in their church, but we hope to see them soon anyways.

Thursday we met with Ludivine and read the 8th chapter of 1 Nephi about the vision of the tree of life. We discussed all the symbolism and the importance of holding to the rod even when everyone around us is mocking us or refusing to partake of the goodness of the gospel. Powerful message for us all!

Later we had a lesson planned with Eric and the Bitanga's at the church. We showed up a tad late because of transport to find the Elders at the church and they said the Eric had just left because we weren't there. Then I looked around to see if he was in sight. I looked left and felt nothing and then looked to the right and felt a powerful instinct/voice just say, "RUN!" So, I just took of running in the pouring rain on wobbly cobblestone..After a few minutes I saw a man ahead that looked like it could be Eric so I called out to him and sure enough..it was Eric. I am so grateful for the Spirit that guides us and for listening because then we had an awesome lesson with Eric with the Bitangas. We discussed the gospel of Jesus Christ and invited him to be baptized. He said he was baptized in the Catholic church, but feels like this might be the new path for him! Unfortunately he is moving to Rennes for 2 months so he is going to continue reading, going to church, and meeting with the missionaries there and the plan is he will come back in 2 months and be baptized here in his ward. YAY! Still such great news! Soeur Johns and I will both be gone when he comes back, but we know he will join and the members will help him get ready for the biggest change/blessing of his life.

Friday we went to Dieppe and saw Elodie. She is awesome! We rode the train with her over there and introduced the Book of Mormon to her. We gave her a copy in French and in English for when she leaves for London soon. She was super excited. We got to know her more and she showed us around Dieppe and we got to meet her little sister and her dad. They were so nice and wanted us to stay the night at their house in Dieppe and hang out with us all weekend...so funny..but we had a yummy patisserie with them and headed back to Rouen.

Saturday we went over and helped Milady clean some more of her apartment. We scrubbed and bleached her bathroom and her floor. It was so fun..but really..cleaning is so fun, especially when you know it is lifting the burden of a dear friend. She was so appreciative and we set up an FHE for this upcoming week with them. We are really excited!

Later we went to Elbeuf and saw Teclaire. She is just darling. We read the entire brochure about the restoration so everything would be clear for her. She has so much faith and kept asking us why she needed to be baptized. She really wants to be a member of this church, so we are going to keep teaching her all the lessons and get her ready for baptism. She really loves church and the members and is so childlike everytime we are there she just sincerely asks for guidance on how to follow Christ. So sweet.

Sunday Teclaire came to church! She road an hour long bus to come to sacrament meeting and then road an hour long bus to go home. That is what I call commitment! She loves being at church and seeing the members. She feels so much love and I love watching her be fellowshipped. It's the cutest thing!

Later we saw the Barnjaks like every Sunday and they prayed for us to find someone who wants this message. We felt like we needed to stop by Rachel even though she lives super far from where we were. Rachel is our Congo ami who wants to be baptized. She was supposed to come to church, but she never came. We stopped by to find her daughter, Patricia and her husband (whom we've never met). Turned out Rachel had to work again. This lady just works so hard! But her husband was there and his mom was there so we talked with them...WOW..we literally felt like we had just met the next stake president for Kinshasa. He was so prepared! We sat down and got to know him. He has such a strong testimony of God and Jesus Christ and his faith was incredible! The Spirit was so strong as he bore witness to us for their divine reality. Then he asked us so many questions about the church because Rachel told him ALL about church. WOW! He also said he has seen The Restoration film sitting next to their TV for weeks and wants to watch it in French. We told him it was in French and he was really happy. He said he wants to learn more about the Mormons and he kept telling us thank you for what we do as missionaries! WOW! So nice of him. He is this big Congolais man who has the biggest heart and so nice. We love him! He said he would watch the film and read the Book of Mormon and we can come back on tuesday to discuss with him. SO COOL! We are so excited. He said he wants to come to church here and he wants to go in Kinshasa! I'm so excited, because I have just heard from Soeur Poisbeau in Saint-Nazaire how incredible the church is in Kinshasa. We are so excited to see this family progress in the church. We just found the most incredible family. Pray for Daniel.

So that was the week. Lots of fun memories, service, and miracles! This is the Lord's work and I feel so blessed to be a part of it! Thanks for the love, support, and prayers. Have a great week!

Soeur Berge