Papa Noël and Christmas Snails

Bonjour à tous et Joyeux Noël! 

J'espère que vous avez passé une bonne Noël!

This past week was full of miracles... pretty much handed to us on a silver platter! It was amazing! But, for the sake of not making this message a novel, I will only share 2 today. 😉

Miracle 1:

Last Monday when P-day was over, my companion and I decided to go street contacting in La République. After a couple hours of talking to people we decided it was time to go home for the night. While waiting for our bus we started talking to a lady at a bus stop, but she didn't seem too interested in our message. The bus arrived soon after so we boarded and ended up sitting across from each other. We tried to pick the conversation back up and get to know her better. We talked about the Book of Mormon and how much it  to us and what it was about. She asked us some questions about The Church, we answered them and just made simple conversation. When it came to our stop the lady still didn't seem too interested, so we thanked her for her time and started to leave. I stood up and she grabbed my coat and asked, "Where are you going? You are coming home with me!" My companion and I looked at each other and I sat back down as requested and went home with her. 😂 So, in the span of an hour, we went from a bus stop, heading home for the night, to sitting at someone's kitchen table reading the Book of Mormon together; taking turns as we read from 3 Nephi 11. She kept the Book of Mormon and we now have her number! 

Miracle 2:

After our church meetings finish each Sunday, my companion and I usually stay after for a bit to talk with members of the ward. Yesterday, as we where talking, the Bishop came up to us and said that there was a family there looking specifically for us. My companion and I looked at each other and we followed the Bishop to his office. There was a family of three there who came to our meeting in hopes of finding my companion and I. The daughter pulled out her phone and showed us the profile pictures we have posted on our What's App account, asking if we where them. My companion and I said yes. Then, the very next words that came out of the daughter's mouth were, "When and how can I get baptized?" My companion and I where awestruck! Turns out this family was taught by some missionaries in this same area a little bit in the past, but due to living so far away and busy schedules, it has been a while since they've been in contact with the missionaries. The family just relocated to Rennes the day before and immediately came to church looking for us! We set an appointment with the daughter for lessons and the rest of the family, and in a month or two we will have a baptism for her. She was so excited! It was the best Christmas present and the ultimate Christmas Miracle! 

These experiences have been so incredible and only added to an already amazing and fun week!  

We went to St. Malo this week to visit the cute woman we are teaching there.  It is this cute little beach town! It looks like a walled city, full of archways and cobblestone, much like a scene from a fairytale! The way it was decorated for Christmas was absolutely a fairytale! We got to see the ocean and I took seashells as souvenirs! 

We ate with members for Christmas Eve and Christmas and it was so fun to be part of their traditions! Christmas we had two member meals back to back, and let me tell you, my companion and I, as well as the Elders, were praying that we would be able to eat both meals. Mealtimes in France (especially holiday meals) are EVERYRTHING! When you think you've had the meal, you've actually only had the appetizer. Courses upon courses, and you are at the table for hours! It was quite the experience! Another thing we have to remember is that you have to finish everything on your plate or else it is very offensive to them. If you think you are full, too bad. You are not full until the members say you are full! They will just put more food on your plate and you have to eat it. I am still mastering the art of taking a little and making it last a long time so when they do force feed me, it's not as bad. 😂

This week I tried many types of new foods... including escargot! Here is a list and the ratings:

1. Muscles: 7/10- Once you are past the pop of the muscle, it's not bad! The sauce they come in is good! Great appetizer!
2. Fish eggs: 3/10- Definitely not tapioca balls on bread, as I thought at first glance. I can now say I've had fish eggs on bread. Once is good for me!
3. Clams: 3/10- Don't think about it and eat it. You open the clam, scoop out the meat, squeeze on some lemon juice and slurp it. I think that is also a one and done!
4. Duck liver: 4/10- It's fine used as a spread on bread, but not by itself. The texture is a little odd and hard to get past. I would eat it again if it was with something, but not alone. But, I can now say I've had duck liver. 
5. Escargot: 7/10- Slimy yet satisfying! Just kidding, it was actually pretty good if cooked right! It's one of those things where you can't look at what your eating, you just have to eat it. The one I had was cooked in butter, garlic, and pesto sauce. It comes in the shell and you take toothpicks and pull it out of the shell and eat it from there. Actually very good. I would have it again. Another great appetizer. 

All jokes aside, the cuisine here is actually amazing! I had chestnuts, roasted by an open fire, and they are so so good! I tried a lychee fruit, and those are also so good! Highly recommend! Sweet and tender! 

Spiritual Thought:

My spiritual thought this week is one of comfort and recognizing Christ and His love. During the Season of Christmas, my family loves to focus on the different names of Christ. This week I focused on His role as Comforter. The Christmas Season is a time of peace and joy for many, but for others it can also be a time of trials and hardships. One scripture that I love which expresses Christ's role in our lives as a Comforter comes from the New Testament:

"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." ( John 14:18) 

No matter what you are going through, Christ is there going through it with you. When you feel alone, remember you are never alone! Christ cries with you, laughs with you, smiles, and mourns with you. He knows how you feel perfectly and will be there to comfort you in a way that no one else can. Instead of turning away from Him, turn towards Him. He will come to you. Sometimes it may feel like He is far away, but I promise, if you take a moment to really try and feel Him, you will. Pray to feel His love and His comfort. His comfort can come spiritually through angels, thoughts, and feelings; but also physically, through people, activities, places, and scriptures. Remember Him in all things, thank Him for the good things in your life, and even for the hard things that help you grow. He is there! 

I love you all so so much! Thank you to everyone who has sent me Christmas cards and letters! The mail service has improved because they came before Easter! 😂 I was so excited to get them and read them all! I have them hanging up near my desk. Thank you! They mean so much to me! I hope you all had the best Christmas! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! 

Joyeux fêtes et bonne année! Je vous aime beaucoup! 

À bientôt !  - Soeur Hansen 
  

2 Months and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Bonjour à tous! 

I hope you all are doing amazing! I cannot believe that this week is Christmas! 

So much has happened this week! At the beginning of the week we had exchanges with the STLs (Sister Training Leaders) in St. Brieuc, a cute little beach town just north of Rennes. We spent a day there with the STLs and I learned a lot about the work and different tips and tricks I can apply to my efforts. We took the speed train over there and the French countryside is absolutely stunning! 

The rest of this week was full of lessons, and I even enjoyed my first member meal! We had quiche and it was so good! 😂 We then went to visit a lady in our ward who lives over an hour away, and it's hard for her to get to church. When we got there she was so excited! We could tell that it meant the world to her for us to be there! We sat and talked with her for awhile, and let me tell you, she had the cutest French house! She had some old Christmas music playing on the radio in the background and a fire going in a little brick fireplace. If you know me, you know I LOVE Christmas, so I was so excited to be there! It was so fun to sit and get to know this lady. Even though I couldn't fully understand what she was saying, I just felt so much love for her. 

The next morning she called us to say how grateful she was that we stopped by and because she simply wanted to talk! Definitely a highlight! 

We also have another friend we are teaching who lives in St. Malo, which is about an hour from Rennes. She can't make it to us either, but she has such a strong desire to be baptized and she is absolutely the sweetest! Every other day she sends us messages about how her prayers are going and different things she reads throughout the week. She also called us "mes soeurs" which is just My Sisters! We love her! 

We also had the ward Christmas party this week and it was definitely a party to remember! The talent show went for two hours and the ward even had my companion and, along with the Elders, and a member named, Claude be the first act! We sang Douce Nuit (Silent Night) with the guitar. We where a hit! There was a huge variety of talents ranging from singing, to skits, accordion music, monologues, and even a sing off between oldies and popular music! It was funny to hear American songs translated into French because the direct translations did not match! 😂  "Billy Jean" became Billy Jzon, and "I Love Rock and Roll" became J'aime la pierre et roll, which is the direct translation of the song but doesn't have the same meaning. 😂 We had to leave before the party was over, and the talent show was still going! The Relief Society made the Elders and my equipe (companionship) plates of food before we left, which was nice! 

I have also hit 2 months as a missionary! I know I still have 16 more to go but, I can hardly believe it, time is already flying by!

Sunday was the world cup finals! France against Argentina! My companion and I decided to go street contacting in the town center... and it was crazy! There was a band playing and getting everyone excited, people where walking around with french flags and hats, and all the bars where filled to the brim and overflowing with fans! It reminded me of going to BYU games and watch parties, and how fun those where. Sadly, The Blues (the French) lost. However, we could still hear fireworks going off in the distance! 

And total side note: People here really do say "oh la la" or just "oh la" as more of an "oh my goodness"! 😂

Spiritual Thought: 

This week I have been focusing a lot on prayer. There is a lot of power in prayer! Prayer is a time for us to really connect with our Father in Heaven and tell Him the things of our hearts. When we sincerely kneel before Him in prayer, in humility and meekness, that is when we are most open to Him and the answers and blessings He has for us. The Lord invites us to go to Him in sincere prayer, and we are promised that if we do so, we will receive answers and be blessed. Have faith based prayers! 

"But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on His holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering." 

(Alma 13:28) 

Remember to pray always! Your prayers don't have to be big or long, just full of faith. I promise you that the more you pray and converse with our Heavenly Father, the more you will see and feel Him in your life. 

I love and miss you all! 

À bientôt! - Soeur Hansen 

Breaking Bread Together

Bonjour à tous!

Cette semaine passé c'était très occupé! 

So much has happened! I know I say that in every post, but it's true! One thing about France is that there are a lot of refugees. But let me tell you, they are some of the coolest people you will ever meet! Right now we have refugees from the Congo and Rawanda that we are teaching. They are so humble, sweet, and so genuine. Even though I don't understand a whole lot of what they say yet, you can tell that they have a lot of faith based on what they've been through, and it's really cool to learn about their beliefs through learning of their past experiences. 

Mega update! Remember the guy on the bus from last week? Well we taught him the first two lessons this week, the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation. We did the second lesson in person and ended up doing a chapel tour too, which he seemed to enjoy. At the end of the second lesson my companion and I each shared our testimonies on what the Plan of Salvation meant to us. After I finished mine he got emotional, then started asking about the gospel in relation to his family. Of course we then shared more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it blesses families! After our discussion he asked for information about our church meetings, we told him the information for Sunday and he ventured off. Well, guess who showed up at church this past Sunday?! When I saw him walking down the street to the church building I got so excited! He was excited to be there too. He went up to almost everyone and introduced himself! 😂 After the second hour he came out of class with the biggest smile and talked with me a bit about his experience. I am so excited to share that that he is on date to be baptized! How cool is that! We have him on date for January 7th so we have time to teach him the last few lessons. Sister Beckwith and I are definitely praying for him, and that all goes well! 

Breaking bread together...  okay so this past week we had a Zone Conference! But it wasn't like any normal Zone Conference... it was in the Paris temple! It was amazing! The night before the conference we had some Soeurs in our zone stay with us and it was one big slumber party! We woke up pretty early the next morning so we could catch our train, however we did not plan the timing very well and left a little bit later than planned. As soon as we got off the bus from our apartment we were totally running to the metro, then to the train station, all the way through the station, and even on the platform to catch the train!  It happens a lot here, so I guess I am just embracing the French way! 😂  

Well, two trains and two metros later, we arrived in the town of Versailles where the temple is. We first stopped at a nearby chapel to have lunch and enjoy some thoughts from our Mission President and his wife. After our meeting, we walked 30 minutes to the temple. The streets of Versailles are amazing! So so pretty! The architecture is stunning and it was a beautiful, sunny day too! Gorgeous! Once we got to the temple we took some pictures then went in for our session. And guess what, I did it all in French! It was a super cool experience, one I will never forget! 

After our session in the temple, President gave us a little tour... well, now I can officially say that the Paris temple is definitely my favorite! After our session we lingered a bit so we could see the garden decorated with lights for Christmas. 

 Once we'd had our fill of pictures, we headed to the Gare (train station). We hadn't eaten all day, so we stopped at a boulangerie (bakery) for dinner. We bought a baguette, quiche, and an almond pain au Chocolat (a croissant filled with chocolate). My dad always told me about them, but now I know for certain how delicious and life changing those pastries are!  The people at the boulangerie were so nice and even gave us another baguette for free! Once we'd gotten all our goodies, we boarded the train and broke bread together and finally had our dinner. 😉 It was honestly so good! There we were, a bunch of missionaries just passing the baguette around on the train and in the stations - breaking bread together! 

Spiritual Thought: 

"And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Alma 32:21 

Because you have faith in something, that doesn't necessarily mean you have to have a perfect knowledge. Your faith comes from your hope. Like they say in the Santa Claus movies: "Seeing isn't believing; believing is seeing." Have hope for those things you don't know and cannot yet see,  develop faith in those things, then believe, and you will see great works!

I so appreciate all the emails everyone sends me! I read every word! I love it all! I am so sorry I take forever to respond.  I promise I will answer you all as soon as I can! 

Love to you all! À bientôt! 

- Soeur Hansen

Pardon My French

Bonjour à tous! 

Cette semaine passée c'était très bien!  

So much has happened this week! On our last day in England, those of us leaving for France were able to enjoy a little field trip to see some of the sites near Preston, along with some church history sites from the early missions in England.  We were even able to see President Hinckley's apartment when he was a young missionary serving in the British Isles during the 1930's.  We also went to see some beautiful thousand year old Cathedrals, which were amazing!  My companions and I were asked to sing "Souviens toi" one last time together for our group in one of these cathedrals.  That was a pretty humbling and spiritual moment to sing with my companions in such a 

beautiful setting.

   

I loved my time at the England MTC!  Meeting so many wonderful people and being able to attend the temple every Friday was such a blessing. I will definitely miss being there, but am so grateful to begin my service in France!   

I arrived in France last Tuesday in a blur of activity, which was surreal! I left the England MTC at 2:30 am and boarded a plane in Manchester at 6:00 am. We landed in France at 8:45 am and from there went straight to the Eiffel Tower! Keep in mind I was in a group of 13 new missionaries, plus my new Mission President, his wife, and 4 young mission leaders. It was so funny trying to keep everyone together. 😂 

And guess what?! My Mission President's name is Michael Hansen! Nope, no relation, and not my dad!  😂 He and his wife are so wonderful and I already love them!  

When I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time, my jaw dropped! It was so incredible, especially as my first view was while standing on a bridge over the Siene. It was a dream come true! 

From there, we took the RER, the Paris subway system. The gar, a hot spot and station for all the transport systems was so crowded, but I loved it! During one of our rides there was a man playing an according style instrument. We  listened to him play while we rode around looking at all of Paris! I felt so French! 😂  Then we took a train to Versailles and had our first view of the Paris temple! It was absolutely gorgeous! I might be biased - but I think it just might be my new favorite temple!

After a whole day of running, walking, and traveling we went back to the mission home for the night. The next morning I went on a 2.5 mile run to St. Germain Castle! It was so cool! I went on a run to a castle!  When has that ever happened in my life??? Never!! 

Later that day we all met at the church in Paris (near Notre Dame) where we met our trainers and learned where our first areas would be. My trainer and new companion is Soeur Beckwith! She is so cute and I already love her! She has also completed a year at BYU, loves camping, dancing, and being active! We are on the same wavelength half the time and it has been amazing! 

My first area is Rennes! It is top left (ish) of France. There is kind of a Celtic influence here too because it is in Britagne (a region of France). Words cannot express how beautiful Rennes is and how wonderful my experiences here already are! I especially love the city right now all decorated for Christmas!  We have enjoyed the Christmas Markets and I am definitely throwing myself into sampling the French cuisine! They have these things called gaulletts - it is like a Savory Crêpe. They like to wrap them around Sausages and it tastes so good! 

Most of this week has been spent getting familiar with the area and adjusting to missionary work. We've done street contacting, bus contacting, taught a few lessons, went to institute with the young adults, et viola. 

Do I know what people are saying ? No, I do not. 

Do I smile and nod any way? Yes, I do. 

I've been able to engage in very simple conversations and am able to get the gist of conversations but I can't follow word for word...yet. My trainer is already having me text and call members too. All the members say my French is good for only being here for a week, but I think they are just being nice. 😉 I am just attempting to speak lots of French and just trying to do all I can, but it is amazing what you can still do with very little French! 

Last night we where on the bus and a guy got on wearing a Norwegian flag on his jacket. I got really excited because I have a cousin who served her mission in Norway. He ended up standing next to me. That was when I felt the spirit say that I needed to say something. Let me tell you, it took a bit to build up the courage to say something, but when I did it was worth it! I asked him if he traveled to Norway and I think he said no it was just on his jacket. I said oh cool and then he asked if I was Norwegian. Being very limited in my conversational abilities, I tried to say no, but that I had Norwegian ancestry. Then my companion urged me to ask if he was a believer. I turned to him and asked, and turns out he is! He explained how he was Christian and how important faith was to him. He asked us who we where and we explained our purpose. We got off at the same spot and talked a bit more about the importance of faith. We gave him a pamphlet about the gospel of Jesus Christ, our contact card, and even got his number! Super cool guy and we are definitely keeping in touch! 

Spiritual Thought: Learning a language is hard! It's even harder being in country, trying to connect with people, and having something to say but not being able to share it because of your language limitations. This week I read in Matthew 9:22 - "Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole." 

This scripture comes from the story where Christ healed the woman with an issue of blood. Although I am not in need of physical healing, the principle of comfort and faith rang with such truth for me. From the moment I read the word, Daughter, I knew it was for me. Through my faith I know I'll be able to speak and understand the language. The simple act of faith can be so incredibly powerful! Pair it with belief, and it is definitely a force to be reckoned with! I found comfort in knowing that Christ is with me. My faith will help me feel the gift of tongues and the ability to begin speaking the language. Never doubt your faith! Your faith can move mountains! I know this is true. Everything happens in God's timing...no matter what it is! 

I love and miss you all! À bientôt! 

- Soeur Hansen