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 🥰