"You're My Mom!"

Coucou a tous ! Vous êtes en forme ? 

I hope so because this week I have yet another update for you! This past week was crazzzzyyyyy! Well, ish! More so busy, comme d'hab!  

Alright, on Monday we had district pday in Lille, which was so so fun! Soeur Reynolds and I are in a district with two other Elder équipes where training is going on! Yup, Soeur Reynolds and I are the oldest équipe in our district, which seems pretty strange! 😂 It is actually kinda fun because in one of the Elder équipes, the trainer is Elder Spaulding who I was in the MTC with, and it has been so much fun working together and catching up! 

We all went to the Zoo together and took some album cover photos... or what we like to call family photos! 😉 We then went back to the church and played some pickleball, hung out, and of course did the flan suck! Hey, I had to introduce the tradition to all my blues! They LOVED it! These Elders are some of the funniest people I know. Not only that, these new Elders are so incredible! They have such a zeal and raw passion, a true desire for the work and it is incredible to see! I am so excited to see what this district does!

Something a little quirky about missions is that we create our own family trees. So, essentially my "mom" in the mission is Soeur Beckwith because she trained me and it goes on from there. I have two "kids" because I have trained twice; Soeur Thurgood and Sœur Letourneau, which makes them Soeur Beckwith's grandkids. Vous voyez ? Plus, when they have kids they will be my grandkids and ensuite. Kinda funny, I know! So of course for the Elders they have a "dad" and a "grandpa." Normally every Monday night we have a soirée familiale with all the JA in the ward, but we actually had a rendezvous with a family in our ward this past week instead, so we had to leave the soirée familiale for a bit, but would return when our meeting was over.  Remember the story from a few weeks ago where I had the scariest meeting of my life with the whole Stake leadership? Well, we went to the Stake President's house to meet for our rendezvous, and it was so fun! He actually owns a type of nursery that is pretty popular here and so they have a super cool home! They actually have to telephone their kids inside the house to get their attention...dang that probably would've made things a lot easier growing up, instead of calling to each other from upstairs to downstairs and having a conversation that way! 😂 Seriously, the coolest family ever and they are so fun! 

Anyway, between the time Soeur Reynolds and I left for our rendezvous and came back to the church, one of the new Elders had asked a RM (returned missionary) in our ward who his mom would be in our district. 😂 (He kinda took the whole "missionary family tree" pretty seriously.) Apparently she told him it would be his first pair of STLs, which is... you guessed it, Soeur Reynolds and I! So, as soon as we returned to the church, ready to join in on the remaining time of our soirée familiale, we were greeted with the biggest welcome ever... "YOU'RE MY MOM!" rang out across the room as one of the Elders came running to greet us. It was the funniest thing ever! I love this district!

Good thing we like our district, we spent a whole lot of time with them this week. We had our in person district council as well, so it felt like I spent forever with them, but we had a great time! We had our réunion in Vd'ascq and after we finished our formation we decided to blitz as a district right by the metro stop! It was so fun! Two elders were holding up a whiteboard with a question asking,  "What brings you joy?" and people were writing their answers on the board while my équipe and the other Elder équipe were walking around talking to people. Collectively we were able to get 4 numbers and give away two Books of Mormon! How incredible! 

By definition, as a missionary we talk to anyone and everyone, and sometimes we meet some pretty interesting people. During the blitz, Soeur Reynolds and I were talking to a girl about the Book of Mormon when a very nice man, who also seemed to be a bit drunk, approached us. (This is not uncommon.) He started talking about how he knew about the Book of Mormon, which was sitting on my lap, as we were in the middle of our conversation with the girl. He asked if he could see it, grabbed it off my lap, and sat down next to Soeur Reynolds and started reading the Book. OOOOOKKKAAAAYY! We finished talking to the girl and started to leave, kinda slowly backing away, when he looked up and pleaded for us not to go and started talking about the Book of Mormon. It was a bit weird, not going to lie, and normally we don't really talk to drunk people, but we continued talking about the Book of Mormon with him. He was excited to talk to us about it all, and even asked for our number, but I didn't quite feel comfortable for that, so in return I gave him a Jesus card with a QR code that he could scan to talk to us again. 😉 We will see what happens, but at least he has a Book of Mormon! 

This week we also had exchanges again with the Soeurs in Arras, but this time we went to Arras and I was with Soeur Smith. She is only one transfer behind me and we had such a good time! We actually had a total bonding moment... when I totally fell off a curb! 😂 Yea... we were walking and I didn't realize how close to the curb I was and I slipped off and totally fell halfway into the street, Book of Mormon in hand and all - totally a dedicated missionary! It was pretty funny, but luckily I recovered quickly with no harm done. 😉 

We had a really cool lesson with their new member, Matthieu, where he shared his conversion story with us and how he came to know the Church was true! It was incredible! I love hearing conversion stories because they are all so unique and different! 

This week we also helped serve one of the cutest old ladies! Soeur Marhem! She is a bit deaf, and so when we speak with her it is a lot of talking with our hands, repeating, smiling, and nodding. 😉 

We also had some pretty stellar pass off lessons this week too! A pass off is when we give a friend to another équipe, or when we get a friend from them. Those lessons were incredibly puissant (powerful) and so incredible! After each of those lessons I finished with the biggest smile on my face, and on an incredible spiritual high!  LOVE IT! 

Funny Story of the Week:

We have a part member family in our ward we have been working with for a while and we have been trying to get a rendezvous with them. Every time we call to confirm they cancel on us, so Sunday night we decided to take the 45 minutes metro ride to Rubaix. (Rubaix is kind-of a sketchy area too.) We get to their house and the blinds are drawn, but we hear noises coming from the house. We knock and get no answer, but we know they are home because the TV is blaring! So, I decided to knock on the window! 😂 The shades slowly roll up and a tiny face appears, then is followed by a huge smile and a gasp of excitement. The door swings open and three little kids come out so excited, showing us their pajamas! So stinking cute! The dad came out and said that they where already sleeping... Whoops! (In our defense, it was only 1900h.) 
We just said we hoped they were doing good and wanted to stop by because we were in the neighborhood. 😉 Luckily it was a good conversation and they were so nice. 

#TheworkoftheLordneversleeps💪

Spiritual Thought

I read these scriptures this week and I love them so much! They remind us of the who and the why - the answer to all our searching and questions. I hope you all will take a moment to reflect on what that knowledge means to you: 

"O how great the holiness of our God! For He knoweth all things, and there is not anything save He knows it.  And He cometh into the world that He may save all men if they will hearken unto His voice; for behold, He suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam." ( 2 Nephi 9:20-21) 

Christ is the who and He is the why! 

I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

À bientôt ! - Soeur Hansen 🥰

Another Year Older - And A Bit Wiser too!

Coucou à tous !   En forme ? 

Well, another week has gone by at an astonishing rate and as expected, I have another weekly update for you!

Today is kind-of cool because a year ago today I became a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter days. October 16, 2022 I was set apart as a full-time missionary, called to serve the people in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg and I have NEVER EVER regretted my decision to serve. This past year has honestly been the greatest year of my life. Of course not everything is as we say, "la vie en rose."  Yes, I am serving in France for heaven sakes, but I have seen and experienced some things that the idealistic movies seem to leave out, tears have been shed, the mountains are out of sight, my family is greatly missed, and my friends only hear from me once a week, (maybe...I'm getting better at responding 😉) but at the end of the day it is all absolutely, undoubtedly worth it! I have learned sooooo many things and grown in ways that I never expected. Some of those lessons learned and relationships forged have drawn me closer to my Savior, which is the most important relationship we can ever have. Those hard times, as well as the many great ones, have helped me to really seek out Jesus, to rely on Him and His atoning power, His love, His grace, and truly place Him in the center of my life. This past year in helping others discover who Jesus Christ is in their own lives, I have also come to discover who He is in my life. A lot of what I have learned I know I couldn't have learned anywhere else, except through the mission. I have grown in ways I never would have if I didn't choose to serve. I can not describe the love I have for the people here in France, for the culture, the landscape, the language, the architecture, the history, and how deeply rooted this country is. Over this past year France has stolen my heart, and I am so content to be able to give this country, this people, and my Savoir every inch and piece left of my heart during these last 6 months. I have nothing but gratitude for what I have experienced over this past year, and I am anxiously awaiting what the next 6 months has in store! 

This week was full of incredible experiences ranging from visiting my first American family here in France, to being on a train to Belgium, to a guy putting His number in my phone and asking us to call him later! Let's get to it!

 I didn't realize how long it had been since I've interacted with Americans until I was invited to an American home and spent two hours with them...yea it felt super awkward for me. 😅 We have an American family who recently moved into our ward and invited us over Monday night for pie! They have a challenge in their family where you get pie once a night during the week and the number of pieces you get are determined by how much and how often you read your scriptures that week. It was so so fun! However, although English is my first language, as we talked I found myself speaking English while using French grammar (FYI: my mom edits these posts for that exact reason 😂) and only phrases in French would come to my brain. It was a pretty fun brain teaser that Soeur Reynolds and I definitely struggled through. 😂 They all began to rapid fire French questions at us... I don't think I've ever felt more stressed in my life than at pie night with Americans! 🤣 It was so much fun to be with them all and watch their interactions with each other, and how they brought the spirit into their home! We talked about General Conference and I was so impressed by the youngest ones as they talked about what they learned! And for the record... Soeur Reynolds and I won pie night. 😉

Wednesday we finally had our Zone Conference...I mean MEGA conference with four zones! As you may remember, last week it got canceled due to a lot of missionaries being sick so it was moved to Tuesday in Paris! We talked a lot about what it means as a mission to have "la vie en rose" and Sœur Reynolds and I along with the STLS of Metz where able to give our presentation of creative and effective ways of finding! It was so fun! It was my first time leading a training, and was in front of about 90 missionaries... CRAZY and a bit intimidating! We may or may not have put the presentation/training together last minute, but everyone (even Soeur Munns) said that it was really good, so I guess we didn't do too bad! 😉 It was also super fun because most of the missionaries I was in the MTC with were there too so we treated it like a mini MTC reunion!  

Sometimes you gotta just have fun as a missionary, you know?! Especially when in Paris - you have to take some chances! Where we had zone conference happened to be right next to Notre Dame and where the Olympic rings are set up, so of course we had to pay a little visit to all the sites. 😄 Soeur Reynolds and I had about 40 minutes to hit all these places before our train left, so we joined our district in a mad dash site seeing tour!  In the end we were able to do it all and still made it to our train seats with five minutes to spare... absolutely out of breath but with no regrets! 😄

I had a blast this week in exchanges with Soeur Acloque! She is Francophone, so we spent the whole day speaking in French and, Wow is she a hoot! She taught me some French words the kids use these days too, so I feel pretty in the know! 😉 We ended up going to Mouscron and on the train ride there we had a pretty cool miracle! Soeur Acloque was seated across from me leaving an empty seat right next to the both of us. A man eventually sat next to her and we made eye contact a few times during the ride, and of course I just smiled. 15 minutes later he said, "Excuse me, but I notice that you are a Soeur. Can you tell me more?" My head exploded! The rest of the train we talked about the Book of Mormon and it was incredible. At the end of the ride we gave him the Book of Mormon and exchanged phone numbers. I wasn't fast enough with the number and so he missed his stop but was so nice about it and said he would just get off with us and take the train going the other way! We parted ways with my bag one book lighter and him asking us to call him soon! Soeur Acloque and I were stunned to say the least! We then went and had an incredible rendez-vous with an older couple in our ward. So fun! Also fun fact, in Belgium they do one bis, in France they do two! And now you know!!  

Spiritual Thought

~Walk with me~

"Like Enoch, we must remember that the one who was bruised and broken for us will allow mortality to do its work in us, but He doesn’t ask us to face those challenges alone. No matter the heaviness of our story or the current course of our path, He will invite us to walk with Him." 

- Emile Belle Freeman 

I love this quote from this past general conference. I feel like it has been a theme for this week and I hope it will uplift you in your week too! 

I love you all! Bonne semaine! À bientôt 🥰 

- Soeur Hansen 

VENEZ - England Takes Over

Bonjour à tous ! Quoi de neuf ! 

This week was definitely one for the books! Soooo much happened! Buckle up folks! 

Monday night we had one of the cutest and funnest lessons ever! On Mondays we usually attend soirée familiae with the JA in the ward, but this time we went to the home of one of the families in our ward to teach their son the 10 Commandments in preparation for his baptism on Sunday! Soeur Reynolds and I decided to do a memory game for him, which meant that we were furiously writing and drawing on cards while on the train. 🤣 

We get to the family's house and it is one of the cutest houses I have EVER seen! Honestly, probably one of the most American French houses I've seen so far. This family is seriously the cutest! They are the  Mangatia family and their son, Josué, got baptized Sunday. To help him prepare for the baptism they have been inviting the missionaries over to teach him the lessons. We pulled up to some of them in the backyard preparing dinner with some of the kids peeking over the fence to watch the local soccer match taking place. We of course asked Soeur Mangatia if there was anything we could do to help her and she said to go get Josué who was currently watching the soccer match and seemingly not paying attention to his mom. 😂 (comme d'hab)  Soeur Reynolds and I made our way over to the fence as we saw him run along the fence then disappear into the bushes. WHAT?! 🤣 Just as quickly, he came out, ran towards the house, and then at the last moment decided to swerve and jump the fence to go say hi to his friends. Soeur Reynolds and I were so confused and couldn't help but laugh! We also didn't know how to tell his mom that her 8 year old sun just jumped the fence to go say hi to his friends. 🤣 

Long story short, he eventually came back and we were able to do our memory game lesson, which he LOVED! I was so surprised by how much he knew! It was so cool! We then had dinner together once the rest of the family got home. It was so nice, they had their fire pit going and we had such a great time! 

Sunday we were able to help with his baptism and Josué invited every single one of his friends! It was so cool to see so many kids at the baptism supporting their friend! He is already a pretty good missionary! 😂 It was a beautiful baptismal service and I was so happy that Soeur Reynolds and I could help and be a part of it.

Tuesday we went to Le Vesinet, which is a really nice suburb of Paris! En fait, that is actually where the mission home is located! Soeur Reynolds and I, along with the other members of the Mission Leadership Council, were able to go to Paris for the day day for our monthly mission leadership conference! IT WAS SO FUN! Both President and Sister Munns spoke and they gave us some amazing ideas and insights on how we can better help our zones and the missionaries within. We talked about different goals and focuses we wanted to take on as a mission and how we could accomplish them. I loved being able to hear from all the other missionaries too; their ideas, perspectives, and especially testimonies. That is the cool thing about missionaries; we all are doing the same work, serving in the same country, having similar experiences, but we are all so different, so even when we have similar experiences we experience them in different ways and learn totally different lessons, so it was cool to hear from everyone! We talked a lot about how to let God prevail in our lives in seeking discipleship. We also talked a lot about obedience and diligence: obedience is doing the will of the Lord, and diligence is the constant valiant effort in serving the Lord and obeying his word. A lot of this requires partnering with the Lord, beginning today with what we can do right now to strengthen that partnership. It was such an energizing day that left me with so much fire for the work and for helping and serving my zone!

This week we were suppose to have our Zone Conference in Brussels, which ended up getting canceled because sadly, a lot of missionaries had Covid. Don't worry! Everyone is fine! We are just going to have a MEGA conference this week in Paris with 4 zones! Mini mission conference! 😂 Soeur Reynolds and I are teaming up with the STLs in Metz (the STLs from my last area) and we are going to give a presentation! It will be my first presentation and I am so excited, little nervous, but excited! I mean, I get to go to Paris again! Also, because our original conference was canceled that meant we could do exchanges! (exchanges are when a mission leadership équipe switches (exchanges) companions for a day with another équipe in the mission) It was so fun! We were able to do an exchange with the Soeurs from Arras and I was with Soeur Morgan for the day. She is seriously incredible! She has such a natural drive for the work and was so personable with everyone! We worked out of her secteur for the day and had a great time together. The next day we did exchanges with the Soeurs in Lille and I was with Soeur Stevens for the day working out of Vd'ascq! We actually went up to Belgium, which of course was fantastic! She is honestly one of the funniest Soeurs ever! She is so positive and really lets her light shine in the work. It was so fun to be with her for the day! The sisters in this zone are truly amazing! 

Alright, the cherry on top for the week comes from  a metro experience! Currently the Rugby World Cup is happening in Lille and it seems like England is doing pretty good. Every weekend it seems like everyone in England comes on over to Lille for the games! #Englandtakesover It's super fun... until you can't get onto the metro. Yeeeaaaa, Friday night Soeur Reynolds and I were leaving the church to go home for the night, around 20h30, (comme d'hab) and as soon as we got to the metro stop we were greeted with a crowd of people waiting to PUSH into the metros. Soeur Reynolds and I waited for what seemed like 10 metros to pass completely full of rugby fans, hoping for one to come with enough room for us to squeeze on.  As we waited for the right moment to push on, the metro doors would open to a bunch of drunk English men singing Bohémien Rhapsody at the top of their lungs, along with various other songs, and saying "venez" (come) for people to join them!  It was even funnier when you would hear them cheer each time someone was brave enough to push in. 😂 Long story short, Soeur Reynolds and I waited for maybe 30 minutes until we were finally able to squeeze onto two different cars, hoping the other made it on as well.  I am happy to say, we both got on and we got home safe and sound! 

Spiritual Thought

Recently, I have noticed the theme of timing. Everything will happen in the Lord's timing. As a missionary this has so many different meanings, but yet one common theme. The Lord knows... we simply do what we can and let the Lord do the rest. 

"And thus they all received the light of the countenance of their lord, every man in his hour, and in his time, and in his season-" ( D&C 88:58) 

Everything will happen in the season and timing of the Lord. Do what you can now, leave the rest and have confidence in Him. 

I love you all! Have the greatest week ever! 

À bientôt !- Soeur Hansen 🥰

Everything is Better in Belgium!

Bonjour toute le monde ! Comment allez-vous ? Quelle semaine ! 

First of all, how is it already October?! Time seriously needs to slow down! This week was crazy but probably one of the greatest weeks in my mission! 

Monday kicked it off with soirée familiale (family home evening) with all the JA in Lille and Vd'ascq ! (short for Villeneuve-d'ascq....plus it's cool to say it like that 😎) In this area the chapel is shared between the Lille ward and the Vd'ascq ward and pretty much anything with the young adults (JA) is combined with the two it's sooooo much fun! Every Monday night they do a soirée familiale as a JA group at the chapel with games, food, and of course a spiritual thought and it's so fun! It's kind of like an extended pday for us! 😂 It's so fun to hang out with them and get to know them, and the cool thing is that most of them are RMs too, so they help us a lot with missionary work! Incroyable ! As a missionary, one of the things that makes a ward "golden" is when there is a strong JA force. 🤗 

This week we had some lessons that the JA helped us with which were just incredible! There is a young woman in our ward who hasn't been baptized yet, but starting to think about baptism and loves coming to church activities and asking us questions about missionary life. She also LOVES American Cookies! (I mean, who doesn't??) We decided to take one afternoon and bake American cookies with her and another JA so that:

1. She could learn how to make American cookies  

2. So we could get to know her better and answer any questions she had. 

The problem was...how were we going to make this natural? 🤣 I have to be honest, it has been awhile since I have socialized like a normal person, I seriously had no idea what to do. Normally, when I am put in situations where I have to be "normal" my brain freezes and I just smile and nod, and it works great! 😅  But...when you're the one that has to carry the conversation smiling and nodding will only get you so far. 😂 The JA with us was incredible and carried the entire conversation naturally! It was such a good afternoon, making cookies and getting to know some people in the ward! 

I recently had what might be one of the most intimidating réunions of my mission! 😟 Last Sunday a member of the stake presidency asked if Soeur Reynolds and I, along with the Zone Leaders, would be available for a réunion Tuesday night. We said sure and didn't really think too much of it until we realized it would be with the Stake Presidency... then we began to sweat a bit. The night came for the meeting, and very nervously the four of us missionaries filed into  room filled with all the Bishops in the Stake and the members of the Stake Presidency. We sat down, our hands absolutely shaking and eyes wide waiting for what was going to happen next. 😅 Needless to say, it was a bit nerve racking. They asked us about how missionary work with the members was going,  and how we could improve, etc. things like that. It was actually super helpful and we got some good council! They were interested in our perspectives on the work as missionaries as we discussed the needs of the members and missionaries. It was honestly so amazing to hear their council and perspectives, even though it was a bit intimidating. 😉 We may or may not have left with our hands still shaking. 

I was able to have dinner with two amazing couples in the ward this week! One couple lives in Belgium and the other in France, and Wow, they were so fun! I seriously enjoyed every single moment of it all! The couple in Belgium made us homemade Belgian frites (can't get better than that) and it was so funny, because the whole time the husband kept saying, "This isn't McDonald's." No, no it was not! 🤣 We sat at the table as they told us stories and histories of Belgium and about the culture. We also got them to tell us about the gaufres (aka, THE BEST WAFFLES EVER!) and why they where so good. They told us that it's because: 

1. The recipe is different 

2. And because everything is just better in Belgium! 😂 Ya know, I just might have to agree! 

The husband then jokingly said that we don't really know anything about Belgium and then wondered over to the fridge. He came back with Belgian cheese and had us try some. (SO GOOD!) He then presented us with sausage from Belgium. (INCREDIBLE!) His wife then wandered over to the cupboards and came back with real Belgian chocolate. (MOUTHWATERING!) Seriously though, everything kind-of is better in Belgium. 😉 It was so cute. They sat there and coached us on how to really taste cheese and chocolate and the sausage as if it were a real taste tasting! 😂 (For chocolate the secret is to let it melt in your mouth first, then chew/suck on it.) It was so tender!  They drove us to the metro after we finished since there were no trains that late and we listened to hymns and other classical arrangements as we drove through the night in Belgium and into France. It was seriously incredible! 

Our other mangez-vous was with Frère Bouteille and his wife! He is actually one of President Munns' counselors, I know, crazy! He was actually so funny and his wife was darling! We talked about the work and bounced ideas off of each other and listened as he told us mission stories from his time in England. Needless to say, I have shared a lot of laughs, heartfelt moments, and spiritual confirmations with these members so far. They are all so incredible and I already love them so much! 

OK, get ready for some of the best news ever!! Remember Hitou from last week? The ami that asked about baptism at the end of our first rendez-vous? Well... he now has a baptismal date! YEA, I KNOW! IT'S AMAZING! We took a lesson to talk about baptism and what it means to be baptized and he literally said AMEN to everything we said and accepted our invitation to baptism! SO EXCITING! The Spirit was so incredibly strong and when he shared what he believed baptism to be, it was seriously so tender. You can really see and feel the love that he has for God and for His son, Jesus Christ. It was really cool too, because he then started asking about our beliefs on life after Death! HOLD YOUR HORSES HITOU! WE GONNA GET TO THAT SHORTLY! I am so beyond excited! Hitou is so incredible, so sincere and genuine in wanting to know more! Everyone, give it up for Hitou!

 👏GOLDEN👏

Spiritual Thought

Last but not least, General Conference was this past weekend! Wasn't it incredible! And shout out to Colorado Springs for getting a temple! Literally, so so excited! The messages this year were incredible and were exactly what I needed to hear. (Funny how that happens. 😃) I hope you all had a chance to watch at least one session of conference! If not, I have them linked on my blog for easy access! 😉 I want to share a quote that absolutely stood out to me. 

“No leader has ever shown more courage, no humanitarian more kindness, no physician has cured more disease, and no artist has been more creative than Jesus Christ. … I testify that Jesus Christ is not only our hero, He is our Lord, our King, the Savior and Redeemer of mankind.” 

—Bishop W. Christopher Waddell 

It is all about Jesus Christ. It has only ever been about Him. This week I invite you to think about which one of His "super powers" resonate with you the most, and I'd love to hear your thoughts too! Message and email me! Look for this superpower in your life and apply it. Don't be afraid to use it or ask Him to use it on your behalf. 

I love you all so much! 

À bientôt! - Soeur Hansen 🥰

Goodbyes Are The Worst!!

Coucou à tous ! J'espère que vous allez bien ! 

Ok, comme d'hab this week has been an absolute whirlwind, but one of the greatest whirlwinds ever ! 

I love the people in Toul so much! More than I can ever justly express. In last week's update I mentoined that I would be getting transferred to the North of France, to Villeneuve-d'ascq ! When I learned that I was getting transferred my heart immediately broke because I had no idea how I was going to say goodbye to the people in this secteur. I immediately started crying because I didn't think I could do it. Needless to say, this past week was full of saying goodbye to people who mean a lot to me and who have made a huge impact on my life. 

Monday night we went to the incredible Tahitian family's house that I have mentioned in almost every update! 😂 We ate dinner, we talked, they made us sing for them, (comme d'hab 😉) and as we went to take some final pictures together, I tried desperately to hold back tears the entire time. Then, right as we were about to head out the door they all kept saying "les soeurs, attendez !"  As some of you know, a common tradition in Polynesia is to give good friends and those you love coquillages! (the long seashell necklaces...I don't know the name for them in English 😂) We turn around to see all four of them, the parents and the in-laws, all holding coquillages for us. I couldn't hold it in any longer and I began to cry. We went up to each of them individually as they placed strings of coquillages around our necks. I was so incredibly touched! This family has shown unconditional love and have been so incredibly kind. They have seriously treated me like one of their own and I have no words to describe my gratitude and love for this family.  As we got into our car and pulled away, the family stood outside to wave us off! It was such a sweet experience!

Tuesday and Wednesday were also full of goodbyes as well. We made scripture covers with Tatie and had dinner with her. The covers took a bit longer than planned! 😂 Sadly my sewing skills are not the best, and after two tries... first putting the zipper on upside down, and then not putting it on centered, Tatie decided she would do it herself! 😂  It was actually very sweet because she ended up making a silver one for me. It was so cute, she said that it comes with a lesson, no money - golden nor Silver, could ever replace the scriptures. So cute and so true! Saying goodbye to Tatie was another hard goodbye. She is another special person that has made a huge impact on me. I may have cried while saying goodbye to her too.😅 She kept saying that we would see each other again, which I am counting on! (FYI: she was baptized by Ryan Murphy... the director of the Tabernacle Choir! CRAZY) 

Soeur Letourneau and I also had our last restaurant outing with the Clauses - Yep, we again had 24 lessons! It was such a good night! President Claus shared some mission stories with us that were super cool and we were able to just talk and enjoy each other's company and have a good time! Then came the goodbye, yet ANOTHER hard goodbye. I may or may not have cried a bit...again. The Clauses are incredible people who have made another huge impact on me. We said goodbye with some good long hugs, handshakes, and tears, also parting with an invitation to be able to stay with them if I ever visit France. Never have I ever felt so much love and support in an area as I did in Toul! So sad to say goodbye, but I know I will for sure see them again on day, whether virtually or physically! The members in Toul truly love Christ, are so humble and kind, and are so incredibly willing to help with the work because they know the blessings that are possible! What an incredible area! 

Thursday was the big transfer day! Transfers are always weird because you wake up in one side of France, then go to sleep in another! But the in between can be so fun as you are trying to take three suitcases, full of your life, with you across France. 🤣 You never know what can happen! Luckily for me everything was pretty much smooth sailing! Soeur Letourneau and I were able to fit all our suitcases in the car (poor little Bibble) and get to Paris without a single thing broken nor anything stolen! There we said our goodbyes to each other, which was so weird, as I felt like we had so little time together! We seriously would have loved more as it was so fun to be together! It was cool to see her growth in just 6 weeks, and I know she will grow in leaps and bounds as she serves at the temple! 

With sad goodbyes, comes happy hellos! Soeur Reynolds and I found each other in Paris, (again! Whoop!) and off we went to Lille! The train to Lille with the Elders and our other Sœurs (I'm back to living with 2 other Sœurs! On est quatre!) was a fun ride as we all talked, played games, then made the crazy dash to get all the luggage back to the apartments! Don't worry, it was a success! Not too much happened later that day, as we were all pretty tired from all the travel,  but, Wow! I am loving being here! 

As I mentioned in last week's update, my area also covers a bit of Belgium and....I WENT THIS WEEK! I crossed the border! 😳 The difference between Belgium and France is so interesting! France has more of the classic European architecture that probably comes to mind when you think of France, but Belgium's architecture definitely contains more brick. I also had my first Belgian gaufre... which was INCREDIBLE! I don't think I will ever see waffles the same way again! 😂 But, while we were there it was pretty crazy, everyone kept coming up to us to talk about the gospel! Not the other way around! When they say the people in Belgium are really nice, they weren't kidding! 

We actually live outside our area (we live in the area of the other Sœurs in our appartment) so we are on public transport a lot! I so missed the metros, busses and trains, so it's been fun being back in a big city! I currently live in Lille, but my area is Villeneuve-d'ascq all the way to a little bit of Belgium! It's been so cool traveling to our area everyday; we leave either right before lunch or right after and are gone until 21h! Even though it's so tiring, it is so so fun! I have been feeling so much joy in the work! I love being a missionary, I love being a servant of the Lord, and I love the people of France! Life seriously is just getting better and better. 😁

We also had a pretty cool lesson the other day! His name is Hitou and he is seriously ELECT! He was found through Facebook from filling out an interest form on a Facebook add we posted. Seriously so kind! We had our first lesson with him this week with a member who is also a returned missionary, and we talked about the restoration of the church. WOW! THE SPIRIT WAS INCREDIBLE! He was eating up everything we were saying and then at the end he asked about baptism! DÉJÀ! Soeur Reynolds, the member, and I all just kept looking at each other! Our heads were spinning! Wow! He is so sincere and he had already started reading the Book of Mormon! INCROYABLE! Not even a full week here and the amis are incredible! 🤣 We of course answered his questions and we talked a bit about baptism too! I am really loving this area and I know I am going to love it more and more! 😄

Spiritual Thought

This week I read a scripture in the Book of Mormon that really stood out to me! It's a really strong invitation that I want to share with you all! 

"And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen." 

(Ether 12:41)

This week, seek Christ so that He can forever be with you! I love you so much! Have an incredible week! À bientôt ! 🥰

-Soeur Hansen