11 Months - C'est Magique!

Coucou à tous ! Quoi de neuf ?

There is sooo much that happened this week so I am going to jump right into it! 

First of all I have hit my 11 month mark! WHAT! HOW? I seriously cannot believe how fast the time has gone by, it feels like I just got here 2 hours ago! One missionary called me old the other day (in mission age), that one hurt a bit, no one likes being called old, 🤣 but I can say that these past 11 months have been the greatest of my life! I love this work with my whole heart, I love France with my whole heart, and I love these people with my whole heart! I have learned so much and I wouldn't trade these experiences for the world! Cheers to 7 more!

During the course of a mission, missionaries will have experiences that can only be described  as feeling as though they were on fire. I, myself, have had a few experiences like this where the Spirit has been so strong, and truly, the only way to describe it is to say I feel as if I am on fire! This week, I had this happen to me... 

Remember the ami we started teaching through simply waving to each other everyday? Well, we had an INCREDIBLE lesson with him where we explained the Book of Mormon and the principle of prayer. During the whole lesson he kept exclaiming that "It's magic," or "This is magic!" With each exclamation we kept reaffirming to him that it was the Spirit he was feeling. We went through the history of The Book of Mormon, and what it is, along with what is prayer and its importance. He was in awe about how personal we make our prayers. We explained that our prayers should come from our hearts, and it is a moment when we can really talk to our Heavenly Father and express the desires and concerns in our hearts. We explained how it can be like a telephone call to our Heavenly Father. He wants to hear from us! He really does! Through prayer we can express our gratitude, our struggles, worries, questions, and more. They don't have to be written down, just express what is written on your heart. Our ami was in awe and so completely excited about it all! The spirit was incredibly strong! We were on a spiritual high, we were on fire! Our friend accepted the Book of Mormon with such enthusiasm and gratitude. He kept thanking us and telling us how incredible it all was. He then told us that he knew we were genuine and speaking truth. We then in turn told him that what he was feeling was coming from the Spirit. That the spirit was testifying to him of the fullness of our message. We could not contain our smiles! It truly was an incredible moment. The scriptures talk a lot about hearts burning as a result of feeling the Spirit; and our hearts were truly burning! Since that meeting he has started reading the Book of Mormon! 

This week we also had mission conference with Elder Alliaud of the Seventy. They Split the conference into two days so half the mission attended on Wednesday, and the other half on Thursday. My zone happened to go on Thursday. Wednesday afternoon Soeur Letourneau and I packed our overnight bags and made our voyage to Versailles. On one of our trains as we entered the car we found our whole district aboard! It was awesome! That night we spent the night with the Soeurs at the Paris temple, which was so fun! 

The next morning we made our way to the chapel for our session of the conference, which was incredible! All the speakers talked about the power in our calling as missionaries, being a disciple of Jésus-Christ, the Book of Mormon, and miracles. It was truly incredible! I loved every single milisecond of it all, and Elder Alliaud is too funny! He had us laughing the enter time! Literally laughing long enough that we all missed our trains! Yup, half the mission missed their train home! At one point Elder Alliaud asked President Munns how much time he had, to which President told him to take as long as as he wanted - which he definitely did! We all then looked at our watches, a bit worried we would miss the train, but went a long with it! 😂 The assistants then whipped out their computers and started typing as fast as they could to re-buy tickets for EVERYONE. Some missionaries were able to catch a train home that night, but the other trains wouldn't leave until the next morning. SOOOO, we ended up being stuck in Paris for another night. Boooyahhhh! I mean really, there are worse places to be stranded! 😉 

While on our way to dinner that night in Paris, we stopped by a little shop selling postcards, and ended up having a 30-45 minute conversation with the owner about Jesus Christ! It was so cool! Yep, always a missionary! 😉 We even gave him a picture of Christ, which he seemed to appreciate. Postcards in hand, and with 15 minutes to spare, we ran to a 50's diner for dinner! The Paris STLs recommended this place to us, so we just had to try it! It was so cute! We waited for our food outside by a juke-box as we took in the sights of Paris, totally sleep deprived and completely happy! We then stayed the night with the Paris STLs and took the first train out the next morning! Who knew being stuck in Paris could be so fun! 😉

And for the big news...

Transfers are this week, and some big changes are coming!  This past weekend we had a Stake Conference and we were all holding our breath, waiting for transfer news to drop! Saturday night I got a call from President starting with, "Soeur Hansen, I need your help." That can only mean one thing! There is a change! Soeur Letourneau and I will both be leaving our little town of Toul and two new Sœurs will be replacing us! WHAT! TOUL IS BEING WHITE WASHED - which means every missionary in the area is changing.  Soeur Letourneau is going to the Temple Visiter's Center, and I will be heading up to Villeneuve-d'ascq, near the French and Belgium border, and Belgium will be included in my secteur! I have also been called to be the new STL for the Lille Zone! How cool is that! That just means I get to hang out more with the Soeurs in my zone and with the other mission leaders! 

We leave early Thursday morning to transfer to our new areas. We shared the news to all the branch members on Sunday, and we all are so sad, but know that it will all be okay. I have fallen in love with Toul and the people here and am so thankful for the time I have spent with each and every one of them.  One door closes, and another one opens! 

Spiritual Thought

"And now I go unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you. 

Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened." (3Nephi 27:28-29)

Never hesitate to ask of God and have the faith that He will answer in accordance to His will and timing! Just ask!

I love you all and I hope you have an amazing week! 

Bon courage et À bientôt ! - Soeur Hansen 🥰

Spider Bites and Wrong Steps

Coucou à tous ! 

Okay another week has absolutely FLOWN by! I seriously feel like time is non existent! 😂 So much has happened this week ranging from amazing lessons, to possibly becoming Spiderman, to stepping in things we would rather not step in...

Monday night was so crazy, but so absolutely incredible! We currently visit a less active lady in our branch, Soeur Beaunac, about every other week. On the weeks we don't visit her we call her twice to read some scriptures together and share a spiritual message. In one of our recent calls we were reading in the Book of Mormon and then our discussion slowly shifted gears to the priesthood and the blessings that come from it. We asked her if she would like a priesthood blessing and she said yes! She also mentioned that her home hadn't been blessed yet and so we asked if she would like a blessing on her home as well. Another yes! Wow! A week later, 30 minutes after pday ended, me, Soeur Letourneau, Frère Tehahe, and his Father in-law Frère Tefaaite, and Sœur Beaunac were all found kneeling beside one another in prayer as these amazing men blessed her home and then proceeded to give her a blessing. They were some of the most beautiful blessings I have heard on my mission. (I feel like I say that about everything!) After the blessings were given, we sat and talked for a bit about how the power of God acts in our lives. Frère Tehahe then went on to explain that the things that come from our Heavenly Father are free, whereas the things of this world cost money, and that we should take advantage of the things our Heavenly Father has in store for us. I absolutely agree! I mean c'mon! It's free! 😂 In all seriousness, never be afraid to use the blessings and the many beautiful things God has given you. They are meant for you! 

After that we rushed over to the Tehahe's house to enjoy family home evening with their family and some of their friends! Even though we were a bit late we still had such a fun time with them, ending the night with them stuffing food in a bag for us to take home! (Because, you know, we eat like birds! 😉)

This week we also had rendez-vous with some of our new amis and they were definitely notable! 😂 Last week we met a girl on the street right in front of our apartment! She just barely moved to France too and we had an awesome discussion with her about the influence of religion in our lives. It was pretty cool, and through our conversation we learned that she had a muslim background, so it was interesting to learn more about her beliefs. Well, this week we actually had an official rendez-vous with her! Soeur Letourneau and I thought we were going into the rendez-vous to talk about faith, but we ended up talking about earthquakes and the faith of those from her home during natural disasters, to how funeral services are carried out and the process and preparations of those events. To be honest, I have no idea how we got to that point on the conversation, our friend kind-of just talked the whole time, then at the end thanked us because she loved being able to talk about beliefs and the importance of religion in her life. Overall,  It was a pretty good discussion, thought not the one I thought we were going to have, 😉 but I enjoyed it and I learned a lot! (A lot more than I expected. 🤣) 

Remember the man at the bus stop we talked with, ice cream in hand and all??  Well, we also had a rendez-vous with him as well!! OH LA VACHE ! That lesson was amazing! We only really introduced The Book of Mormon and read through the title page and the introduction, explaining what it all meant, and he pretty much understood it all! He also asked some pretty dang good questions! The Spirit was so strong and it seriously was incredible! He got excited about it all, we got excited about it all, EVERYONE WAS EXCITED! He was so open and accepting of everything! It was soo good! He told us he will be at church next week too, which is exciting! YAYAYAYAYAY! We invited him to begin reading The Book of Mormon and to pray about it and he accepted the invitation without hesitation. I am so excited to see what happens next!

Even with the amazing lessons, missionary life isn't always super glamorous. Some of you may know that I don't react too well to mosquitos. (slight allergy) Well, imagine not only getting bit by mosquitos, but also by a spider during our morning sport! Yup, your friendly neighborhood French missionary is about to join the friendly neighborhood Spiderman crew! We will be web slinging and Book of Mormon giving all over France so don't hesitate to reach out! 🤣 I am totally fine, by the way. It was just a few days of swollen bites and a swollen leg and reaching out to the mission nurse. Some bite cream and French Benadryl later, I felt much better but sadly did not receive any Spiderman super powers...but never say never! 

Anyway, that was the least of my problems! In Toul almost everyone owns dogs, problem is there are more dogs than there is grass... if you know what I mean. So it is common for us to walk the streets only to find little presents left all over by these adorable dogs, which should definitely come with a warning...WATCH YOUR STEP! On Friday Soeur Letourneau and I had a rendez-vous with another of our newly found friends. We went to the port, had our lesson, which was great, and life was good. To get back into town we walk along a path kind-of in the middle of some fields. During our walked we stopped for a bit and stepped to the side to try and call a member we were going to visit - and I think that is the moment disaster struck! We walked to the member's house, where there was no response so we went back to our apartment. As we were sitting at our desks I kept smelling something... something pretty gross. I asked soeur Letourneau if she smelled anything and she said no, but it was soooo strong! I don't know how she didn't smell it! The thing was, it smelled the strongest closer to the ground...by my feet. This went on for about 5 minutes, as I tried to smell every nook and cranny trying to figure out where on earth the smell was coming from, then it hit me! My heart sank as I looked down at my own shoes. I had been blessed by a little doggie gift! I immediately froze not knowing what to do and Sœur Letourneau immediately started laughing and of course filming me! I may have screamed à little too. 🤣 It was one of those situations where we couldn't help but laugh! I was running around like a headless chicken trying to clean up my not so pleasant gift. No worries though, everything turned out okay and my shoes are clean...and I may or may not still be wearing them. 😂 

There are a lot of members in our branch from French Polynesia, so we were able to enjoy a fun activity with the members highlighting each of the islands! It was so so cool! We had a great time enjoying the music and dancing, and loved seeing the relationships between each of the members of the branch! It was non stop laughing, singing, and dancing. It was incredible! We may have even joined in on the fun ourselves! The members kept taking videos of us singing and dancing with everyone. It was amazing! The love I have for these members is indescribable! They really do feel like a family! 

Toul is great and training is going well! I feel like I have learned so much during my time as a trainer. Sometimes I feel as though I am the one being trained. The Lord really does have an interesting way of helping us learn the lessons He needs us to learn. 😂 I love my companion dearly! We are having the greatest time together and are working so hard, seeing miracles on the daily! 

Spiritual Thought

This week I have read a lot about prayer and I read a scripture that I absolutely just have to share with you! This scripture comes from 3 Nephi when Christ visits the Nephites. While there, He teaches them many things, but one of the things He teaches them is about prayer. I love this part from verse 8 in chapter 13: 

"Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him." 

(3 Néphi 13:8) 

Your Heavenly Father knows you. He knows you personally! He loves you! Never be afraid to talk to Him. 

And also, if you ever have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out to me! 

Also, I promise I will respond to those who have sent me an email soon! So sorry it's taken me a gazillion years! Know that love and appreciate you all! Have an incredible week! 

À bientôt!- Soeur Hansen 🥰

White Knuckles

Bonjour à tous ! Quoi de neuf ? 

I seriously cannot believe another week has gone by, and that it is SEPTEMBER ! La vache ! Where has the time seriously gone! So much has happened this week! But first, let me give you a few updates on things that have happened in recent posts! I haven't been too good on updating you with some of our progress, so hopefully this is a bit of redemption! 😉

 

David Remember the Turkish man from a few posts ago? The friend we talked with through Google Translate for an hour? Well...He came to church last Sunday, like he said he would...and let me tell you, Google translate saved us again! Throughout sacrament meeting I was translating from French ---> English --->Turkish. It was an experience! 😂 It was easier for me to type English into Google Translate, but the speakers were talking faster than my poor thumbs could type and David could read...so I would listen for a few minutes to get the main idea, translate that into English into Google Translate to be translated into Turkish. It was quite the process! David seemed to really enjoy sacrament meeting and every once in a while would take my phone to type a question, which we would discuss. Honestly, it was pretty fun! Would do it again. 🙃 He had to leave early for work, but he said he enjoyed it and really liked being there! In fact, it was his first time ever being in a church! Sweet! Since then we have been running into David everywhere we go! (Toul really is a small town.) 😉 Saturday Soeur Letourneau and I went to the Cathédrale Gardens to get some work done when we ran into... yep, you guessed it, the one and only David! We were just about to call some of our amis when he came over and started talking to us! Oddly enough the conversation slowly became a little weird then ending with him tending to a wound he had with a piece of paper and fountain water. Soeur Letourneau and I took that as a cue to take our leave. 😉 We bid farewell and continued on with our work. 

This week we also went to see Sandy! Seriously a highlight of my week! She just got back from going to the Temple and so we sat and listened to her talk about her experiences. It was incredible! We had an amazing conversation about the temple and the spirit was so strong! At the end we closed with a prayer and asked Sandy if she could offer it. She said yes and that she would start in English, finish in English, and say the middle in French to make Satan jealous! Haha! 🤣 It was so awesome! This week I hope you find ways to make Satan jealous too! 

Unfortunately, we haven't seen our sweet window cake man, Claude, this week, BUT never fear! My time in Toul is not over yet so we WILL see him again! We are actually planning on making him some cookies, (American chocolate chip cookies, of course. Thanks Uncle Cory!)  so it won't be just cakes being passed through the window!  😂 

Mais ben, other than that I don't have too many huge updates on anyone else. Everyone is slowly starting to come back from vacation, which means we get our amis back! 

This week was pretty eventful though! I feel like I went to bed absolutely exhausted each night! (Which, I believe is a good sign. 😉) Tuesday we had dinner with the Clauses (my branch President and his wife) at the restaurant again because we hit the goal of 24 lessons! We have been having dinner with them every week - booh yah! It was probably one of the most fun dinners ever! Our favorite Tahitian couple even joined us and we laughed and had such a great time together! It was so sweet, President Claus said I'm not allowed to leave unless we have a baptism in Toul. 😂

Wednesday we had our district council meeting, but in person! ...And in Metz! The chapel is so cool! It's a super old home that was owned by a noble, but turned into a chapel. The baptismal font there is honestly the prettiest one I've ever seen! I also let Soeur Letourneau drove from Toul to Metz, and honestly I have never been so stressed about driving in my entire life! I was absolutely white knuckling it the whole way there AND back. One second we were driving through the country side, the next through à tiny town, then on the motorway, and then in the middle of town. It was really stressful, 😅 BUT we made it to and from Metz without a scratch and in one piece! We did have a couple close calls, however, but not on us! I also can't say if I would want to drive there and back again. I think once was enough for me....crazy drivers! Just shows that God loves His missionaries! 😂 

In between each of the white knuckled drives we had a good district council and then we all decided to go eat at Subway! It was fun to talk with some of the older missionaries in our district and hear their stories! I love to get together with other missionaries! 

This week we did A LOT of finding! Our amis are starting to come back from vacation, but while we wait for everyone to return we are hitting the streets! This week we decided to pull up to a neighborhood right across from the regiment and do some door knocking. We knocked for about 2 hours, and believe it or not, almost every single door was answered! It was crazy! I have never had so many people answer their doors! We had some super interesting conversations, along with some pretty weird encounters, but it was so good! We handed out a lot if cards, got a phone number, and even handed out a Book of Mormon! 

We knocked on this one door and waited for a bit with no response, but as soon as we were about to leave I saw the curtains pull back and a face appear in the window. Naturally, I waved. An older man came out and of course we began talking. We explained who we were and why we are here and the conversation slowly turned into things that are happening in the world and how he couldn't understand why all of it was happening. He mentioned that he was religious at heart, but had a lot of questions that he never got answers to, and was doubtful he ever would. One question was the classic on of, "If God loves us so much, why do bad things still happen in the world?" We talked about how there will always be opposition in all things and how we have the bad so that we can know the good. We then introduced The Book of Mormon and shared that this book contains answers to all the questions he was asking. We explained what it was and how it has helped us in our own personal lives. He questioned the proposition at first, but then accepted the book. We also placed our calling card inside and told him to contact us with any questions, and that he could also access The Church's website to look for answers himself if he wanted. He seemed so distraught by everything he had heard and seen from the news, and it broke my heart a bit to see him so affected by it all. We also talked about our agency and how we all have the ability to choose for ourselves between good and bad and that is part of why these terrible things happen in the world. After talking a bit more and placing The Book of Mormon in his care, we bid farewell to him and carried on knocking on plenty more doors. 

I do not know if he will read The Book of Mormon, or if it will sit on a shelf and collect dust, but I do know that God loves us. Yes, the world can be a very sad place. We cannot help or control the actions of those around us but we can certainly control our own choices and actions. Use your ability to choose to choose joy! 

 

We also met two other amazing people this week! One of which we were kind-of already acquainted with. Every morning for sport we go to a track to run, and every morning we always wave to a man who is heading off to work. However, we haven't seen him a lot recently. The other day, we we were walking back to our apartment from the parking lot we saw a man walking in front of us, just a few meters away. He seemed kind of familiar, and turns out it was him! I had the biggest urge to talk to him but we were kind of far away from each other and it seemed like we were going to go in different directions. I was trying to plan out how we could naturally and casually catch up to him when he stopped to check something on his phone - #Miracle - and were able to catch up to him! As we passed I stopped and said hello and asked how he was doing. To provide more context, I explained to him that we waved to each other everyday. His face lit up! He was so excited to meet us! We explained who we were and what we did and asked if he was interested, and without hesitation, he said yes! Woah! We gave him our card, exchanged numbers, and are planning to have a rendez-vous this week! 

Incredible! I'll do my best to update you on how it all goes next week! 

Saturday, Soeur Letourneau and I were walking to a park to get some work done. On the way we stopped at Jeff de Bruges for some ice cream (seriously the best ice cream ever)! We then passed a bus stop and there was only one guy sitting there. I immediately asked myself, "What if?" (I promised myself that if I ever ask this question when I see someone then I have to talk to them.) Book of Mormon in one hand, and ice cream in the other, I stopped and asked how his day was going and from there we began talking as if we were old friends! We explained that we were missionaries and what we do, as well as that we love talking to everyone about Jesus Christ! We talked to him a bit more then asked if he was interested in learning more. He said that he was super interested and that he was actually a Christian! Cool! We continued talking and he mentioned that he actually met the Elders once in Nancy and that he really enjoyed talking to them. No way! We of course talked more about that! 😂 I then asked if he liked to read and we began talking about The Book of Mormon. He seemed sooooo interested in it! We gave him the copy I had in my hand and he actually seemed genuinely excited to receive it! We asked of he would be interested in setting up a rendez-vous and talking more, and he said YES! WHAT! We exchanged numbers and invited him to church as well. 

Sunday came and he didn't end up coming to church because he had plans, but we are planning to have a rendez-vous this week! So so exciting! 

There are so many more things that happened that I wish I could share with all of you but for the sake of time we can talk about them when we see each other next! 😉

Spiritual Thought

This week I want to share a scripture that comes from... yep! the one and only Book of Mormon! This scripture discusses that if we do not understand the things we learn it is because we do not ask to know them: 

"Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark." ( 2Nephi 32:4) 

To truly understand we must put forth the effort to know. Ask of God! I have done so and I can tell you that when I put myself on my knees and ask in sincere prayer for Heavenly Father to help me understand, the understanding does come! It has never been all at once, but the more effort I put in, the more I understand. I invite you all to do so for yourself! Seek to know! Through sincere efforts and desires, the Lord will bless and help you!

I love you all so much! Have an amazing week! 

À bientôt ! - Soeur Hansen 💕

You Eat Like Birds

Coucou à tous ! 

Wow what a week it has been! So much to tell you in so little time and space! If anything, this past week has been one full of miracles and little moments that brought so much joy! I came out of this week feeling so much gratitude for being a missionary, for the members here in our branch, for our amis, for  my own family, for my own sweet friends, and just for life! 

As you all know, Mondays are our pdays, the day that we get to take a break for a few hours and have time to do our grocery shopping, become a tourist for a bit, etc. However, pdays can look very different depending on the area, as some areas have more to do than others. Toul is a small sleepy town, so I have more time to talk to family and write emails. 😉 At 18h we are then back on the clock until the end of the day. We usually spend those last few working hours of our day talking to people, having lessons, etc. Missionary things! 

Last Monday we were suppose to go over to a member's house to pick up some invitations to pass out for an activity we were having. (Remember the amazing Tahitian family I've told you about? The Tehahe? THEM!) We show up and one of the kids opens the door and just stopped and waited. Soeur Letourneau kinda stood there not knowing whether or not to enter. 😂 We could hear everyone in the kitchen, so we decided to go in. A quick "Ioarana" and then a, "you are eating with us tonight! Sit at the table!" And then it was followed up with, "if you have time of course." Obediently we sat at the table. We tried offering to help but they just kept telling us to sit down. 😂 It turned out to be one of the best member meals EVER! We laughed and joked the entire time! Every time we eat with them they think we don't eat enough and say that we "eat like birds" so they start pulling out tons of ice cream to give us. 🤣 They also say the more you eat, the more blessings you get. Sometimes I just feel like I ain't got any more room for blessings! 🤣 At the end of the evening as we went to wash our hands before we left we asked of we could do anything and they said to sing for our food! So, of course, we sang a hymn for them! They actually filmed it to send to less active members and friends! 😂 Before we left, they asked how many members we eat with during the week and we said not very many. They were so surprised and began telling us that in Tahiti the missionaries eat with members almost every night and invited us to eat with them whenever we want. They told us that if we don't know what to eat one night, or if we have nowhere to go, to just call them! We thanked them and told them it was very kind, but we wouldn't want to burden them. They looked us dead in the eye and expressed how much they love having us over and that they want us to come. I was literally fighting back tears! This family is seriously incredible! They love to joke, laugh, smile, and simply have a good time, and the love and support they have for the missionaries is amazing! When we left for the night I could not stop crying the entire way home! This family means so so much to me! Their generosity, love, kindness, just everything about them touches me and words cannot describe my love for the family Tehahe! They are a huge example to me! During dinner one of the kids shared that he was disappointed that he couldn't get a chocolate bar at the store that day because they couldn't afford it, but it was okay because he was still happy. The mother in law, in all sincerity then said we don't have much but we are happy and everyone agreed with her. 

It is so true! We really don't need a lot to have true happiness. Material things give limited happiness. That chocolate bar might make you happy in the moment you eat it, but then you just might have regrets later 😉. True happiness comes from those you love, edifying experiences, and above all Jesus Christ. Anything from Him is where true happiness lies!😊

Another amazing member we visit weekly is a woman named Sandy. Sandy is so very special to us. She is in a wheelchair, blind, and has some other limitations but she is so so incredible and is yet another inspiration to me. She loooooves music! Especially this one artist named Soprano! (Mental note to add that artist to my list of music for after the mission. 😉) We usually sing together or share a cantique and discuss a scripture. The Spirit is always so very strong when we visit her. Her testimony is incredible and she has such a true and strong desire to serve the Lord in every way she can. She can't do everything she wants, but what she can do she does with such joy and passion! She has been a great friend of the missionaries since forever, so she has also learned a bit of English from the missionaries over the years, so we say a lot of "oh yeas," (I taught her that one 😉) " hellos," "goodnights," and even "kiss, kisses," but she surprised us by saying a prayer in English during our last visit, and let me tell you, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard! She prayed for us, for our families, for our amis, and seriously just poured her whole heart out to the Lord. Soeur Letourneau and I started tearing up. (I promise, I don't cry as much as it sounds.) The prayers that Sandy says are seriously so heartfelt and are an example to me of how I want my prayers to be. She is just so genuinely good and radiates the light of Christ. 

She went to the Temple this past week and asked us if we had anybody she could pray for and keep in mind while she was in the temple. It was so nice and thoughtful! Sandy is one of those people that you know is just special. Her faith is a huge example to me and she has a huge amount of faith! She has faith that there is a reason for her circumstances in life and trusts that it is God's plan for her. Her testimony is so edifying, I just love her! She always gives the best hugs too, and as missionaries we don't get a lot of those. 🤣  

I know I've talked a lot about the members, but they seriously are incredible and are so so important to me!  Members mean so much to missionaries! You truly make a difference! The families in our wards and branches really do become our family, our home away from home. 🥰  These are people who have absolutely made my week and I hope these experiences have helped uplift you in your week too!

Recently, Soeur Letourneau and I have been trying to stay out in town right up to the end of our day to give us more opportunities to talk to people. We met some incredible people this week and one interaction resulted in us giving out a Book of Mormon, getting a phone number, getting invited to dinner, and even getting a hug at the end! WOWZUH! (The French don't necessarily hug. It's more of an intimate gesture here, hence why they do the Bis!) So it was pretty incredible! 

Another contact we had ended up with us talking in English! We started in French but then found out the lady preferred English, and Wow - I haven't done that in awhile! My brain short wired and I could not communicate for the life of me in English! 😂 I kinda gave the lead on this one to my companion, and Wow! Was it awesome! We even ended up getting her number! (PRAY for me that I'll continue to have most of my contacts in French!) 😉

Last but not least... Window Man! Toul is small enough to where everyone pretty much talks to each other through their windows, and sometimes these conversations may even end up with cakes being passed through the window! Atleast this was the case for us! Every day we pass by the cutest old man looking out his window, and of course we wave! One day it was torrentially raining and we were racing home when we saw him waving us over. We got to know each other a bit and we had the cutest conversation ever as he shared about his grandchildren and great grandchildren! He then began showing us pictures through the window. 😂 Then he tells us that he has something for us and disappeared for a few minutes, then came back with a huge slice of cake for us! He told us it was for breakfast the next day and not to eat it too fast! Too cute! He literally made our day! We even took a picture with him! Ahhhh! Amazing! 

This week was seriously all about the connections and interactions we had with people. There were so many experiences that brought me so much joy! I love it all! 

Spiritual Thought

This week someone shared a scripture that really stood out to me! This scripture comes from the New Testament and talks about being content in every moment:  

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." (Philippians 4:11)

My dad always tells me to be Present, Happy, and Humble! If I had to pair his guidance with a scripture, this is probably the scripture I would use! In whatever state we are in, we can choose to be content! We can choose to be happy no matter the circumstance. So this week... choose to be happy! 

So many miracles happen daily, and I wish I could share them all in full detail! Someday!😉

I love you so so much! I am so happy being a missionary and I hope you all are just as happy! 

A little housekeeping...

I also wanted to quickly update you all on some new missionary regulations... I am now only allowed to communicate with friends via e-mail and letters. So feel free to reach out to me on messenger, but don't forget to drop your email so I can respond.🙃

 

Je vous aime tellement ! Bonne semaine ! À bientôt ! 🥰

- Soeur Hansen