Bonjour à tous! We had a really cool, wonderful week full of learning and changing and growing here in Montpellier. Some unexpected things happened, both good and bad. But, I learned a lot from everything that happened! Well, remember our super on fire amie named Sarah? She fasted and read the BOM during her fast and was so gung-ho about really finding out for herself if she should get baptized now? Well, we went to go see her on Wednesday, basically expecting her to want to get baptized asap. Well, we get in and she is very reserved and won't really say much. So, we start talking, asking her about life and then about the fast. Then she just snapped... she felt that every missionary she's ever worked with is just a robot who wants to dunk her. She kept telling us that she thinks that is our only goal in seeing her, not because we actually care about her and want her to help her come unto Christ, but that we just want to up our baptismal statistics in the church. That hurt. It was like a sucker-punch to the gut. I've never had an ami tell me that they didn't think I cared about them and that I was basically just a baptism salesman. I love her so much, but I don't think our amis can really understand our level of love for them. Because we invite them to do these things out of our love for them, because we want them to be happy and have a better life. And sometimes they don't recognize that. She kept saying "I told you I wasn't ready, and yet you still asked me to fast." I thought fasting would help her receive an answer that she could be ready. Well, she asked us to leave. That hurt too. We did all we could to salvage it, but we will just have to give her some time. Then, on Friday we had a lesson with our other great amie, Flora. She's always been a bit doubting, but she's also desirous to learn more. Well, we read 2 Nephi 31 all together, explaining it to her as we went, and she really liked it. We were teaching with this stellar recent convert who just bore beautiful testimony all throughout. Then we all watched the Restoration film together. The spirit was so strong, and afterwards we all 3 were testifying to Flora about what we had just watched. The only words that came out of Flora's mouth was "I'm not going to have any more time to meet with you guys actually. I'm really busy. But thank you for letting me learn more about your church." We all felt like we got kinda slapped in the face. Totally didn't see that one coming. But our recent convert handled it like a champ and did exactly what members need to do when an ami is dropped...stay their friend! So she began inviting her to all these activities and set up a hike together. Let me tell you what I learned from these two experiences. One, I learned what my role is as a missionary. It is to INVITE others to come unto Christ. I am literally a mouth that opens and Christ's invitation to come unto Him comes out. When they say they don't want it, they are simply rejecting Christ and His plea to them to come closer to Him. They are not rejecting me. And, I fulfilled my role. My part is to extend the invitation, and then it is up to them to choose what they want. God gave us free agency for a reason, right? But at least I did my part. The second thing I learned is the importance of listening to the spirit in lessons, and really deeply praying for the gift of discernment to know the needs of those around you. You can not just go off of your own ideas, your own head, and think you know best. God has to be the one in control! I barely know these people. But He knows them absolutely perfectly, even better than they know themselves. So, He knows precisely what they need to hear. That's why I really have to learn to listen to Him and let Him speak through me. It's a work in progress. But, we had many amazing things happen this week! I will tell you about a few of them. One, we met this Swedish girl on the street, who said she wanted to come to church with us. She said she'd meet us at this specific spot on sunday morning, but since she only has a swedish phone, we had no way to contact her throughout the week to make sure it was still good. But we still went to that spot on Sunday morning just in case (normally we always get stood up), but she actually came!!! She stayed for all 3 hours and loved it. We are doing an FHE with her at a member's house this week. Then last night one of our amis called us up and said he wanted to have the next lesson asap! So, we did! And it was a powerful lesson. He had actually read the BOM since the last time, and he loves it. Then right after we left that lesson, we get a call. It was from this guy that we contacted on the street the week before, and he called us back from the pass-along card we gave him, asking for the Finding Faith in Christ DVD that's on the back. First time that has ever happened on my mission! So we met with him and gave it to him, and I think we'll be seeing him again. God is really pouring out miracles! I love this work so much. I can't get over how happy it makes me to be in the service of my Savior every single day. Bisous,Soeur Shields
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Bonjour tout le monde! So, I don't have a lot of time, but I'm going to try to describe the millions of things I learned this week...because there were a LOT! And they all came from learning to listen to and recognize the Holy Ghost. First of all, we had zone conference this week. In my interview with President, I decided I needed to ask him how to better understand the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I feel like I have a hard time recognizing when it's the Holy Ghost or just my own thoughts. So, he told me to try a basic exercise. Pick a subject that I feel very sure is true about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, pray to know if it's true. Pay close attention to my feelings after. If it is anything good, peaceful, or calm, then it is of the Spirit. Remember what that feels like, and then pay attention to when I feel those feelings again. So, I tried it the next morning during my personal study. I picked the Book of Mormon. That is a book that I have full conviction is a literal record of ancient prohpets translated by the power of God, with information in it that we need to be able to live with God again. So, I prayed about it. I told God, I am pretty positive this book is true. There's nothing about it to me that doesn't make sense. There's nothing in it I don't believe. So I followed Moroni's invitation, and asked if this book is not true. I said "God, are my feelings about this book wrong? Because I don't think they are." Well, afterwards, I just sat there for a few minutes. I felt the same as I had when I started my studies, but that was a good sign to me, because I knew I had already invited the spirit in that morning when I started my studies. So I knew the spirit was still there, since my feelings of goodness and peace and calm hadn't left. Then the thought clearly came into my head, "you already know. You've always known." And I said why yes I do! And that sealed it up for me. That Book is literally the word of God folks, written by his mouthpieces the prophets. And I wouldn't know that if it weren't for the Holy Ghost. Now my ability to testify of that book is a lot stronger, because I actually did the invitation that I give people every day. I invite you all to do the same. :) So, now we have an incredible ami named Sarah. She had all of the lessons when she lived for a summer with her relatives in Cali. But now she's back in France and says she just doesn't feel ready to get baptized, but doesn't know why. She doesn't really see why she needs to do it now and can't just do it a few years when she feels more ready. She said she's made all the efforts to try to figure out if now is the time and to help herself feel more ready. Well, we all sat there for a minute, and the word "fasting" just came to my head. Thanks, Holy Ghost! So, I asked if she had ever tried fasting. She said no. So we explained what it was, and she got really excited and wanted to try it. So, we told her to read Alma 5 as she fasted and to pray a lot to receive an answer if she should get baptized now or not. Well, we prayed a lot she'd actually do it. 2 days later we get a phone call from her around noon. She tells us she hadn't eaten breakfast and she wasn't going to eat lunch either and was going to do it! The full fast! That night she texted us and told us she did it, "not even with a little snack in between" she said. Haha. I was so proud of her and so grateful for the Spirit for putting that idea into my head! We will be seeing her on Wednesday to discuss how it went. Next, last week we got picked up by a sister in our ward to go do some service at their house. Well, right when she picked us up, she accidentally bumped the fender of another car in the parking lot and left a pretty good mark. We all 3 sat in the car for a minute and she was on the verge of tears, telling us she didn't know what to do, because she didn't have money to pay for that. Well, we all decided to pray. I said the prayer, and the words "please help us always be willing to be obedient and honest, even when it's hard" came out of my mouth. Thanks again, Holy Ghost! So, afterwards she asked what I thought she should do. I could only think of leaving a note on the car with her phone number. She did so, and when we were driving away she said she felt so much better after leaving the note, because she knew it was the right thing to do. She said it was hard to write it and put it there, but now she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders because she knew God would bless her for being honest. Well, this week we saw her and that person never even ended up calling her. God really blesses us when we do what is right, especially when it's not what is easy! Ok, next example. We're out contacting and we meet this girl who is actually half-American. She is a devout Christian, which is so rare to find here! However, it got a little bit into a Bible-bashing session. She asked us tons of hard questions. The one I hate and dread the most that people ask, "are you telling me my baptism wasn't valid?" came out. Well, I just stopped. I needed to really listen to the Spirit, because I could tell I was talking too much from my own head. So I waited a minute and opened my mouth, not knowing what I was going to say. Then the words came out, "Sophie, I don't know you. But, I know that God knows you perfectly. I know that God knows the desires and intentions of your heart. I know that He knows you have faith in Him. I know that He has all the answers. I know that because He loves you so much, He wants to give you the answers. You've just go to ask Him. I'm not going to tell you if your baptism was valid or not. Because it's not my baptism. It's by God's power that we are baptised, therefore, you should ask Him. Pray sincerely to know if it was valid, and He'll answer you." She really switched after that moment, and became very soft and willing to listen. She said, "Ok, I can do that. Thank you. I've never thought to ask Him that before until now." Thank you, Holy Ghost. You know the scripture without the spirit you will not teach? Well, it's true. God knows what His children need to hear, not me. That's why I've got to use His spirit to talk to them. Last one. We have an ami named Sylvie. She has had all the lessons and been with the missionaries for quite some time. We had planned a lesson on the prohpets with her. When we started the lesson though, we could tell that something was bothering her. So, we ask to her about it instead of starting our lesson. She just pours out her heart. She said she wants to get baptized but she has one fear. And that is that she's afraid if she's at a birthday party or a holiday party and someone offers her a drink, she won't be able to say no. We talked about this with her and it got to the point where we were all getting a bit frustrated. It was hard to understand why something so small would keep her from such joy. So, we knew we needed to invite the spirit back. We all got on our knees and had her offer a prayer and ask to have the strength to say "no" when offered a drink. After she was done, the spirit was back and it was strong. The thought came to me that there are little hurdles for every single one of us that are hard to sacrifice. There are moments for all of us where we fear man more than God. I thought about it, and realized I could not judge her because I am no better. Every one of us has struggles, they're all just different. I was able to see her through God's eyes and was then able to effectively help her, because I could feel that Christ-like love for her. Hats off to the Spirit, once again. I love this work and I love all that I'm learning. It's the best. Love always, Soeur Shields
Bonjour from France! Don't worry, it's still standing. I had to make the subject of this week's email from Les Mis because that's what France has felt like this week. It's like the 3rd French Revolution round here right now! And when I see people in the streets waving these giant french flags around it literally looks like it's straight out of Les Miserables. Haha So, don't worry everyone, all is well! Yes, there is lots of craziness going on here right now. Yes, sometimes I get a little scared. BUT. Guess who we've got on our side? GOD! And He is the most powerful of all. And I'm really happy to be on His side. And I know that He's going to win in the end. And I know that if I'm obedient, I have nothing to fear! But please keep my dear country in your prayers. They need some extra help right now! Well, as for this past week. It was pretty difficult. The political unrest has made it really difficult to get things done. We can't go out on the streets much, we haven't been able to use the public transportation much to get places, and our amis don't show up to their rdvs because they couldn't get there or they didn't want to go out in all the chaos. So, it's been a bit of a struggle. However, I have still learned so much this week! Mostly that there is something good in every day. Something I do is keep a miracle journal. Every morning I begin my studies by writing a way that I saw God's hand the day before, and how He blessed us with a miracle. Even in the worst of days, there is something to be grateful for. So, I'd love to tell you about some of those! First of all, when all of the political unrest began, we got pretty scared because we are in a high-alert area. So, once we received the news, we knew what we needed to do, and really all we could do. We said silent prayers in our head. I prayed for this country, I prayed for those who are trying to tear it apart, I prayed for the families of those who have been hurt, I prayed for peace, and I prayed for angels to walk with my companion and I so that we would be protected. Well, after I said this prayer, my companion and I were walking on the sidewalk, looking for a member's house. This dad and his little girl were walking in front of us, and the little girl kept turning around and looking at us. She was probably 2 or 3. She kept pointing up to us and saying to her dad, "look!" She was smiling from ear to ear. She couldn't take her eyes off of us and was pointing and shouting look with all her might. We weren't doing anything to provoke this...so I have a feeling that God answered my prayer and my companion and I weren't walking alone. From that point on, I stopped worrying, because I know God is protecting us. So then the other night we go to the McDonalds to grab a snack, and as we're there, we hear people speaking english. Our ears perk up and next thing we know we're over at their table chatting away with them. They were these 4 very kind girls here for vacation. One of them, from England, actually lived with an LDS family last summer and even went to EFY with one of the kids! So, she was so happy to meet more of "those darling Mormon people" that she loved. We got to spend a really great moment with them, and I know that a little seed was being planted! Then a few days ago literally every plan we had made fell through. Even our back-up plans. So, we finally decide to visit one of our members because it was their birthday, and we brought them a treat. We didn't think it was the greatest of things, because there were more effective things that could have been done, but we just felt like we should go. So we did, and when we showed up at her door and sang her happy birthday, her eyes filled with tears. Then we gave her the treat, and she told us this was the first birthday present she had received in a long, long time. And then it occured to me why we felt prompted to go there. Missionary work is spreading the love of God people! She definitely felt more loved after that, so I felt satisfied that even if nothing else had gone right that day, God led us to one of His daughters who was in need of some cheer. Ok, last super cool miracle! So yesterday in the middle of our studies after church, we get a call. It was from this man we met on a bus a couple of weeks ago. We had given him our pass-along card with our number. Ok...secret. Only one other time in my entire mission has someone actually called us back from a pass-along card. Sometimes I think to myself, "why even bother giving these out? no one calls us." But guess what? Someone did! He wanted to meet with us and learn more. So we bring him over to some of our member's house, and they hit it off and we taught him and he loved it! It was so cool. I learned that I can't ever lose faith in the little acts. I've passed out hundreds of pass-along cards on my mission. And God knows that. And even if I have to pass out a thousand more before I see fruits come from that labor I will! Well, I hope you all have a lovely week! Thank you for your support and prayers, this past week especially! Love always, Soeur Shields
Bonjour everyone! So we started out 2015 with a bang! We had a district meeting before the New Year in which I learned some pretty simple yet life-changing type stuff. I'll have to attach a picture to explain it, but I'll try to sum it up. So, there's a circle, and in the circle it says "comfort zone" and then outside of the circle it says "where the miracles happen." That is incredibly true. Nothing in this world is going to change if we don't first make something change within ourselves and step out of our comfort zone! So, our ZLs challenged us to a really tough game this week. We called it "Operation: New Years--New Amis". (Yes I named it that just for you, dad. ;) ) So, the objective was to get as many lessons, conversations, and RDVs fixed for the week as possible, in the hopes of finding new amis. The numbers they set seemed ridiculous...not even close to possible. I started out the week thinking there was no way. What little faith I had! Thankfully I have a companion who is full of faith, and was fully confident that we were going to be able to do it! ...And, we did. We worked our butts off, but let me tell ya, it was all God. I'll give you a few examples. While we really were focusing the work this week on finding new amis, we couldn't neglect the other aspects of missionary work; working with less-actives, recent converts, and members. So, we had just finished cleaning the home of a sister in our ward, and it had taken longer than expected, so we had to go straight home afterwards to make it home by 9h30. We hadn't yet met our goals that day, and we had very specific numbers we had to reach each day to accomplish this huge goal by Sunday. Well, we walk to the tram hoping that maybe someone would be at the stop so we could start a conversation with them. Not a soul in site once we got there...so we were a little disheartened that we wouldn't get to meet our goal that day. We sit down at the tram stop, and this older man comes walking up to the tram stop. By the looks of him, he didn't appear to be our normal type that we have success with. But, we figure, might as well try anyways. One thing leads to another, and by the end of the tram ride, we had taught this man a lesson on the tram, and set up a RDV with him for the next day. And the next day...he actually came to his RDV! He just started reading the BOM. It was so cool to see how God literally provided us with people when we had nothing left we could do. Another example, we go out contacting, and we start talking to these two teenage girls. We can tell pretty early on that they're not at all interested. But we had prayed about where to go contacting earlier that morning, and we felt like this was where we needed to be. As were talking to these girls, this other slightly older girl comes and sits not too far away from us. We were discussing the fact that God listens to our prayers with these girls, and all of the sudden this third lady chimes in "yes He does, what they're saying is true. Listen to them." So...we finish our conversation with these girls, and then go over to the other lady. We got to know her and then set up a RDV with her for tonight! She is super excited to see us again. Are you seeing a pattern here of how God is the one literally putting all of these people in our path? Again, we get on a bus to go to the church. Like I said, we've got to go out of our comfort zone. In France, you don't talk to strangers on public transportation...it's like taboo. But, we do it anyways, because we have a message that everyone needs to hear! So, despite the awkardness, every tram and bus, we find some strangers to talk to. I got in this bus, looking around and not feeling too excited about going and making someone feel weird. Haha... But, I do it anyways. I sat next to this one nice lady. We get talking, (I have become a pro at how to bring up ice-breaker conversation starters...Try thinking of about 20 new ones per day) And we come to find out as we're talking that she's actually requested a BOM online from LDS.org before because she was curious. The missionaries had given her one, and she read the whole thing! Here on the bus, we meet someone who knows everything and said she just needs someone to answer her questions about it! So, we will be seeing her soon. Am I the only one freaking out at how God literally just placed His super prepared children directly in our path?!? It's soooo cool! Another kind of funny story...Our apartment has a balcony right from where our desks are where we study. In the middle of comp study, my comp looks out the window and says "that guy out there...we need to go talk to him!" So, I didn't question her inspirtaion, so we went down there and started talking to him. We come to find out that he is in the process of setting up a stand because he is a Jehovah's Witness and he's about to start his proselyting...haha pretty ironic? Well, we decide we're going to stay and teach him anyways. Even though nothing came of that lesson with him, because he made it very clear he doesn't want to change, we know we had to go there for a reason. God wants to see that we're making efforts. He wants to see that we're willing to trust inspiration and act on it. And if we do, He knows He can trust us with more revelation. So, by the end of yesterday, we had gone above and beyond the goals that were set. We hit numbers that we didn't even know were possible. But you know what? We realized the numbers are the least important thing. At the end of each night as we were writing in our numbers for that day, we didn't feel happy that our numbers were high, but that we could honestly say we let go of every fear and gave it our all. We left our comfort zone and let God mold us into who He knows we can be. And we both realized that what we felt at the end of the week more than anything else, was just pure love. We felt so much love for our ward, for the people here in Montpellier, for each other, but especially for the Lord. We saw how He literally works with us, because this is HIS work! We know we gained a lot more trust with God this week, because we showed Him that we have faith that through Him, all things are possible. I want Him to feel like He can trust me with anything, because that's when we'll start seeing the work here explode. If I had given into my fears and doubts, I wouldn't have been able to be an instrument in His hands. There isn't a better feeling than giving it all over to the Lord, and feeling Him work through you. Last thing, did you all set some goals for 2015? I hope so! Because you're not going to go anywhere if you haven't figured out where you want to go! Break it down into categories, and write a subgoal for how to accomplish each big goal. If you're having a hard time thinking of goals, think of this: the closer you come to Christ, the more He shows you what's holding you back from becoming like Him. So, spend some time studying Christ and His attributes. The more you learn of Him, the more you will understand what parts of you are not like Him. Do you need to be more forgiving? Do you need to pray with sincerity? Do you share the gospel with others? etc. I promise you as you study His life, you will learn what you need to change about your own life to become more like Him this year! Have a fantastic week my dear ones! Love Always, Soeur Shields
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