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!
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.
—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 🥰
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