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

No Greater Joy

President et Soeur Poznanski say goodbye :(

My bleu

We got a pineapple!

Ice cream macaron. Need I say more?

Well let's just say this was the WEEK of MIRACLES! I cannot even begin to describe my feelings of complete joy. Watching people want to change and want to come closer to Christ just hits a special spot in any missionary's heart..and this week, let's just say we all felt God's love for us as His children a little stronger.

Tuesday we went to Elbeuf to visit Teclaire, our lovely friend from Cameroon. We taught her a little more about the restoration and organization of the church. She is very open and humble and willing to learn. She is one of those perfect child-like amis who just asks us to help her on her journey closer to Christ. She is having so many difficult trials in her life, but she said she wants to be baptized..she's a little nervous someone else will walk around the corner and ask her to be baptized in their church, since she's already been baptized 3 times, but we invited her to pray about this church to know from God what to do. We love her!

Later we saw our home-girl, Ludivine. We taught about the Word of Wisdom. I love that commandment! Just makes so much sense..I invite you all to please follow this commandment and don't mess up yo dang body..it's a gift from God..let's ask the magical question, "do you treat your body like you treat your iphone?" wash, rinse, and repeat.

Wednesday..a VERY emotional day for all of us. We had a big multi zone conference in Paris to say goodbye to the Poznanskis. Such a sad day for all of us in the mission, but a happy one for our dear President and family to be able to sleep for a good week and replenish from all their incredible hard work they've put into this mission, the missionaries, and for the Lord. They have truly changed this mission and touched all of our lives as they have been our 'parents' away from home. Words just can't describe my appreciation and love for them and I know every missionary in this mission has that same love for them. We are just one big happy family and it makes me so grateful for my brothers and sisters I've been able to meet on my mission, from missionaries, to members, to amis. Anyways, the day was filled with wonderful trainings and musical numbers. This mission has so many talented people! Sorry I'm not in a TON of photos, but they asked me to take the pictures for Soeur Poznanski. It was so fun to play photographer all day long and capture all the sweet moments of the missionaries and the Poznanskis. It was such a fun day. Then we all got to HUG President and Soeur Poznanski! It was so nice to get a hug from them. Let's be real, bisous's and hand shakes are nice, but nothing compares to a warm embrace with the people ya just love. Seriously, hugging president felt like I was huggin' my daddy back home and oh how I've missed that! 

Thursday we saw Sr Bachelet..love that woman..she gave us a pineapple..it was yummy.

Found a monistary with a bunch of 'bonnes soeurs' (nuns) and we are trying to figure out how we can go back to swap stories over biscuits. They look like a fun conversation since everyone thinks we are 'bonnes soeurs' since our plaques say 'Soeur' but anyways..that'll have to be for another day..I had a dr apointment with a allergy specialist. Didn't know they existed! It was literally the fastest dr appointment of my life. It lasted a total of 3 minutes! I was so surprised, but since I knew what I needed and what my problem was he just prescribed me some medicine and voila..I'm good as new.

Later saw our dear Ludivine and introduced the Law of Chastity..another GREAT commandment that I love and encourage you all to follow :) It's a good one. Ludivine had a lot of questions and it's so hard to explain that even though sex before marriage is widely accepted today, it is not accepted in the eyes of God. Our branch president was there with us in our lesson and it was wonderful to hear his powerful testimony of the special blessings of living the law of chastity. It's so clear that this world is just continuing to be strongly influenced by the adversary, but the righteous will prevail! So. along with the iphone analogy..do we treat ourselves like we treat our iphones? We need to take care of ourselves and remember we are the work and glory of God. Our bodies are a precious and valuable gift!

Then we met with Eric, our awesome friend we found on the bus who came to church last Sunday. Frere Bitanga and Clemence Barnjak were there and bore such powerful testimonies of the Book of Mormon. We gave him his own copy and I have never seen anyone accept the Book of Mormon with such excitement and joy. He even accepted to be baptized if he receives an answer to his prayer. WOW! 

Friday we helped clean our new friend, Milady's apt. She is a less practicing member. One of the members invited us to meet her and we just love her. She was just in the hospital for a few months and is a single mom with 3 kids and her life just sounds hectic so we helped clean a little here and there to help her get ready to move in the future...we went back on Saturday to help again and her kids were there and she opened up how she really wants to find peace in her life. We invited her to church.

THEN...Sunday happened...oh what a wonderful Sunday it was!! One of our wonderful members drove with us all the way out to pick up Teclaire for church and she LOVED church. Also, Milady and all 3 of her kids came to church! AAANd Ludivine came to church AAAND Eric came to church and bought flowers to put on the podium. WHAT A CRAZY AMAZING SUNDAY! Here we had been working so hard to have people come to church and we had so many people!! It was incredible. Everyone just loved church and that day, the Spirit was just so strong. The members were so loving and welcoming to the new people and it's so awesome to see the fruits of our many labors. We have been working so hard trying to invite everyone to come to church and finally we had people come who just LOVED being there. I absolutely love Rouen and never want to leave this ville. It will only break my heart.

Later we went by Milady's and taught the kids about the story of Nephi and building the boat and we made little aluminum boats and little pieces (coins) that they had to make float on the water. It was so fun and the kids are sooo adorable and just love it when we come over. They run to the door and yell 'THE SISTERS! THE SISTERS!' and that Sunday was their first visit to church! How incredible. Milady even got out old pictures from her baptism and activities and was so excited to show us. This family is so special!

Things are going so well in Rouen. We have seen miracles left and right. I just love these people and love serving the Lord and helping people discover Jesus Christ as their Savior. I love this church and this gospel and the blessings it brings to our lives and to our families. Love you all! Have a great week!

GROS BISOUS

Soeur Berge