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