Laorana ! (That's hello in Tahitian!)
Wow, another week and another month down! Can you even believe it?! I am in the double digits now! Not gonna lie, that is a bit scary! I only have 8 months left of the best thing I've ever done ! Every day I feel more and more joy being out here, doing the Lord's work and I still get excited each morning I wake up and have the opportunity to get to work!! The sun is out and shining, miracles are happening, my companion is incredible, and life is good! I love being a missionary and a servant of the Lord and I am so excited for the next 8 months! Cheers!
Alright, a lot happened this week, ranging from exchanges in Metz, to hanging out with our Tahitian friends, to using the amazing powers of Google translate, again, to talk with someone from Turkey! Crazy right! While in Metz during exchanges, I hit my 10 month mark, and let me tell you, Metz is such a cute city! It holds a lot of WWll history, as well as a lot of German influence. So cute! And guess who I did exchanges with for the day there... SOEUR BECKWITH! Just as a refresher, Soeur Beckwith was my first companion and trainer back when I was in Rennes. She is currently serving as one of the Sister Training Leaders for my zone! (Exchanges are when missionaries switch companions for 24 hours with other missionaries in leadership for a chance to check in with each other.) 
We had an absolute blast! I was so excited to be with her again, and I always learn so much from her! She showed me around Metz and I fell immediately in love! We talked to a lot of really cool people, including this cute little French grandma who was telling us about everything fun to do in Metz! She said she wasn't interested in our message, but she wanted to just talk to us because she loved us. 🤣 How cute is that! She invited us to get coffee with her, but we declined because we had a rendez-vous. Without hesitation she said, "Well, I hope it's with two boys!" We laughed at that and told her no, that it was with one of our amis. 😂 We all laughed a bit after that and then said she hoped to see us again and, " Bis du coeur " (kisses of the heart). She explained that normally people say Bisous (kisses) when they leave, but you can also say Bis du cœur to people that you really love and admire. HOW DARLING IS THAT?! For two minutes she sat there kissing her fingertips and then extending them out to us, giving us les Bis du cœur
! It seriously made my day! As missionaries, our main goal when we talk to people is to share the gospel, but sometimes what is needed most is to just to talk with others, to listen to them and share life stories with them, to get to know the culture and the people, all of which shares the light of Christ, which is ultimately our purpose, and both ways of sharing that light are seriously my favorite! This French grandma really made my day! Everything about her just made me smile and as we left we just couldn't stop smiling! It is in these little moments that I know God is aware of me. We don't leave every conversation having exchanged numbers, or with them being interested in learning more about the gospel, but we do leave a lot of conversations smiling. As Buddy the elf says, "smiling is my favorite!" 😁 That is what counts! I know that God is aware of us, especially in the small moments because He sends us people that make us smile!
We had an absolute blast! I was so excited to be with her again, and I always learn so much from her! She showed me around Metz and I fell immediately in love! We talked to a lot of really cool people, including this cute little French grandma who was telling us about everything fun to do in Metz! She said she wasn't interested in our message, but she wanted to just talk to us because she loved us. 🤣 How cute is that! She invited us to get coffee with her, but we declined because we had a rendez-vous. Without hesitation she said, "Well, I hope it's with two boys!" We laughed at that and told her no, that it was with one of our amis. 😂 We all laughed a bit after that and then said she hoped to see us again and, " Bis du coeur " (kisses of the heart). She explained that normally people say Bisous (kisses) when they leave, but you can also say Bis du cœur to people that you really love and admire. HOW DARLING IS THAT?! For two minutes she sat there kissing her fingertips and then extending them out to us, giving us les Bis du cœur
! It seriously made my day! As missionaries, our main goal when we talk to people is to share the gospel, but sometimes what is needed most is to just to talk with others, to listen to them and share life stories with them, to get to know the culture and the people, all of which shares the light of Christ, which is ultimately our purpose, and both ways of sharing that light are seriously my favorite! This French grandma really made my day! Everything about her just made me smile and as we left we just couldn't stop smiling! It is in these little moments that I know God is aware of me. We don't leave every conversation having exchanged numbers, or with them being interested in learning more about the gospel, but we do leave a lot of conversations smiling. As Buddy the elf says, "smiling is my favorite!" 😁 That is what counts! I know that God is aware of us, especially in the small moments because He sends us people that make us smile!
This week we also enjoyed an activity with the Tahitians in our branch were they taught us different aspects of their culture and traditions, and it was soooooo fun! We danced and sang with them and had fun getting know them better! We made Tahitian skirts and even learned a bit of the Haka and other traditional dances! I love the people here in Toul and in the branch! I never knew that while on the mission I would be exposed to so many languages and cultures, and it's incredible!
#Words of wisdom: there is always something to learn from every person you meet! No matter where you are from or what you have done, always ask yourself, What can I learn from this person and in this moment? - and you will be surprised!
Google translate to the rescue - Take 2! Google translate works some incredible miracles! Let me tell you about one such miracle we had yesterday: Normally on Sunday evenings we have a meeting with some of the members in the branch and we discuss branch needs and our amis
from the week. Yesterday it was canceled so Soeur Letourneau and I decided to go street contacting in centre-ville. While we were out walking around a man passed us on a motor scooter and we both felt like we needed to talk to him, but we couldn't easily stop him on his scooter. As we kept walking, we eventually saw him again sitting on a bench. Perfect! We immediately headed straight for him and I told Soeur Letourneau that this was her contact. She started speaking and he looked confused. We then asked if he spoke French and he said no, Turkish! Woah! So, I whipped out my good ol' Google translate and we started up a conversation! He would ask us questions, and we would answer. We talked about the Book of Mormon, and almost every gospel principle! This happened for about an hour! At the end he asked how he could trust us and we told him that we knew it was all true, that we are two young Americans who left our families, friends, and our lives behind to be here for 18 months talking and teaching of Christ. If it wasn't true we wouldn't be here. As he was reading the Book of Mormon his eyes would get big. He then looked at us and said, bravo! 😂 He then asked if he could see the church and we said yes! We exchanged numbers and told him we would send him more information. We then said our goodbyes and went home for the night. Later that night we got a text from him saying how impressed he was with our conversation and how it left an impression on him. He said that we have sacrificed a lot to be here so what we are talking about must be good and he wants to learn more. How cool is that! We plan to respond to him tonight! I'm so excited! What an incredible week!
from the week. Yesterday it was canceled so Soeur Letourneau and I decided to go street contacting in centre-ville. While we were out walking around a man passed us on a motor scooter and we both felt like we needed to talk to him, but we couldn't easily stop him on his scooter. As we kept walking, we eventually saw him again sitting on a bench. Perfect! We immediately headed straight for him and I told Soeur Letourneau that this was her contact. She started speaking and he looked confused. We then asked if he spoke French and he said no, Turkish! Woah! So, I whipped out my good ol' Google translate and we started up a conversation! He would ask us questions, and we would answer. We talked about the Book of Mormon, and almost every gospel principle! This happened for about an hour! At the end he asked how he could trust us and we told him that we knew it was all true, that we are two young Americans who left our families, friends, and our lives behind to be here for 18 months talking and teaching of Christ. If it wasn't true we wouldn't be here. As he was reading the Book of Mormon his eyes would get big. He then looked at us and said, bravo! 😂 He then asked if he could see the church and we said yes! We exchanged numbers and told him we would send him more information. We then said our goodbyes and went home for the night. Later that night we got a text from him saying how impressed he was with our conversation and how it left an impression on him. He said that we have sacrificed a lot to be here so what we are talking about must be good and he wants to learn more. How cool is that! We plan to respond to him tonight! I'm so excited! What an incredible week!Spiritual Thought
This week I read a scripture in the Bible during my studies that really stood out to me.
There is darkness all around us. It is easy to fall into this darkness and get caught up in it and let it consume us and our priorities. Instead of succumbing to the darkness, fight it with the light! Fight evil with good! Light will always overpower darkness because it is illuminated for all to see. We can find the light by focusing our thoughts upon Christ and putting Him at the center of all we do. Make Him your priority, and all will fall into place. If you let Him, He will overcome and eclipse the darkness around you, and will even carry you during those times you can not walk alone.
I hope you all have an incredible week! I love you all! À bientôt ! 🥰💕
- Sœur Hansen
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