Portuguese and A Baptism!

Bonjour à tous !

Cette semaine est passée très vite ! C'était rempli avec beacoup des choses, mais C'était très bien ! (This week has passed very quickly, has been filled with many experiences and has been very good!)

This week was probably the busiest week I have had on my mission so far! We taught about 3 lessons every day - one lesson we conducted in two different languages, we had a few meetings, we did exchanges, and we also had to plan and attend a baptism this week! Yes! The man from the bus that we met my first week in Rennes got baptized on Saturday! How amazing is that! This week was decorated super busy but it was a really good week!  

So, here we go!

It is crazy how many languages you are exposed to as a missionary, and how many more languages you have to try and teach in! I may be called to France speaking French, but this week we taught a lesson in Portuguese with the aid of the Portuguese speaking Elders, and are now trying to teach a lesson to someone who speaks Swahili and Kikamba. Pretty cool! Our lesson this week with the Portuguese speaking Elders was actually so cool! We have a member who was recently baptized and has been preparing to receive the Priesthood.  As part of his preparation we needed to teach him a lesson about what the Priesthood is, the responsibilities and duties of the holder, and how it is used. Attending our lesson were my companion and I speaking French, the Elders in our mission who speak Portuguese, a member from our ward who could help explain it better, and our new convert. That was six people for one lesson! It was funny because we would say a word in French and he wouldn't understand, so the Elders would then say it in Portuguese, and he would say "oh ya ya, I understand!" 😂 Even though we had a couple languages going on all at once, it turned out amazing! It had to have been one of my favorite lessons so far. It really just goes to show that the Holy Ghost is the ultimate teacher! The most important language we really have to be able to understand is that of the Holy Ghost, and the importance of listening to that still small voice. 

And the moment you have all been waiting for.... I HAD MY FIRST BAPTISM!! And man do I have a few gray hairs from the experience! 😂 We had the baptism for the ami I met on the bus my first week here, just before Christmas! It was amazing! Soeur Beckwith and I got to the church at about mid morning to begin cleaning out the font and getting things ready. A few hours into preparing, and about an hour before the baptism: we had printed the programs, had everything set up, and started filling the font when we got the text from our ami that he would be an hour late because of the train he was taking. An hour late to his own baptism! Soeur Beckwith and I looked at each other not totally sure what to do. The font took about an hour to fill so we stopped filling it so the water wouldn't be too cold, and started trying to figure out every solution we could to get him there on time. We decided to call the brother from the ward who would be performing the ordinance to update him on the situation, only to find out that he had forgotten about the baptism! OH NO! While on the phone we heard the moment he realized what he had forgotten! It was actually kinda funny. Silence...and then a huge gasp and OH LA LA! He then told us he would be at the church in five minutes. 😂

Soeur Beckwith and I were still holding our breath, when soon after we got a call from our ami that he would be making it on time after all.  In the end, we still started the baptism about 50 minutes past the original time. 😂 While we waited for the brother doing the ordinance to arrive, and for our ami to arrive we decided to try and figure out some technical issues for some of the videos we wanted to play and we resumed filling the font. (Many many prayers were said during this time: that we would have enough time to fill the font, that everyone would be there in time, pretty much that everything would work out!)  In the end everyone made it on time, the technical issues were resolved, and the font was filled!  Most importantly, the baptism was beautiful and tears were definitely shed! 

And now for the confirmation! Our ward starts at 9:30 am and the confirmation was planned for the first part of the meeting. Soeur Beckwith and I arrived at the church 20 minutes before the meeting started and we got a text that our ami would be late... again... because of the train... again!  He said he would be about an hour late unless someone could pick him up from the Garre (train station). Soeur Beckwith and I didn't know what to do. At this point it was only about 10 minutes before the meeting started, and through the window we saw one of the young adults, Matthieu, getting out of his car and we knew we had to ask him! We found Matthieu sitting in his chair, having barely opened his scriptures and preparing to start the meeting. We went up to him and asked for his help. Without hesitation he said he would do it. WHAT AN ANSWER! He toute suite left and went to pick up our ami from the Garre. As he drove away from the church we frantically texted each of them the other's number so they could find each other at the station. Soeur Beckwith and I then made our way into the chapel and took our seats, again praying all would be well. Just before the sacrament, we see our ami and Matthieu slip in. I cannot describe how big the sigh of relief that Soeur Beckwith and I let out was, and the incredible relief we felt after such a chaotic weekend!  He was confirmed, and all was well! I wish I could share every other detail from the week, but that would be a bit much to read. 😂 

So I leave you with a Spiritual Thought:

This week, in the midst of the craziness, and my now gray hairs, one scripture kept coming to mind:

 

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." (D&C 123: 17)

The events from this week really tested the validity of this scripture. We can only do so much ourselves, then we have to let God prevail with the rest. However, with the things we can do, we must do so cheerfully. When we do so cheerfully we are better able to stand still with the comfort and assurance in knowing that the rest is up to God, and that all will happen according to His will. We must do what we can cheerfully and when we have done all we can, we must stand back and let God take care of the rest.

 

Love you all so much! Gros bisous ! 

À bientôt ! - Soeur Hansen