Bonjour tout le monde! Well here it is, transfer 5 and I have finally left Chambéry. I am now in the beautiful and ginormous ville of Montpellier in the deep south, right near the coast. My new companion is Soeur Wolfe, and we were actually in the MTC together, so we know each other quite well. We're white-washing this area, which is quite the daunting task, but I know the Lord is on our side and will help us. Leaving Chambéry was really, really hard. I thought saying goodbye to my home and family back in NC and UT was hard, this was worse, because I don't know if i'll ever see these people again, unlike back home where I know I will. That's the bad and good thing about staying in a ville for so long. You get the opportunity to build such close relationships with so many people, but that makes it that much harder to leave. I really made friends there that I consider family, and they will always hold a very special place in my heart. Not just with the members in our branch, but with our amis as well, and especially with the dear sisters I got to work with. Yesterday on my last Sunday there, I felt so much love from our wonderful branch. They really roll out the red carpet when a missionary leaves. I was given lots of gifts and invites to come over and hugs and what not, but that's not what mattered most to me. What mattered to me is that people told me I had made a difference in their lives. That I had helped make their life a little bit better. To hear that from our members, our less-actives, and especially from our amis, meant more to me than anything else in the world. It made every hard moment worth it, to know that when my 5 months there was over, I had left it better than I had found it. But I know that that was the work of the Lord, it wasn't me. I'm just so grateful for the opportunity I had to be an instrument in His hands for those magical months in Chambéry. What made me extremely happy was to see all of our less-actives at church on Sunday, some that hadn't come in years. We spent the whole transfer working really really hard with our less-actives. The fact that they all came filled my heart with more joy than I thought possible. It just feels so good to see people make the choices to put their pride aside, and come unto Christ. So Montpellier...I've only been here for a few hours, but it's a LOT different than my sweet little Chambéry. It's really big, really crowded, but really cool. There's tons of students here, and tons of touristy things. Beautiful Christmas decorations are everywhere and cute Christmas markets. We are the only sisters in the area...and this area has a few "red zones", meaning they're too dangerous to go into. We just got 3 locks installed into our front door, because not too long ago the apartment was broken into and robbed... a little scary, but I know we're protected if we're doing what's right. This is going to be a very different experience, but there's a lot of work here to do. I'm really excited to get started! I know our Savior lives and that He loves us. I know that I'm called to do His work, and I am more grateful that I can express for the opportunity to do it. I know that I am only a representative of Jesus Christ, that this is His work, and He will bring to pass His purposes. I'm doing my best, and I'll never stop trying! Because I want to give back to my Savior what little I can. I'll never be able to re-pay Him for what He did for me, but I certainly can try. I love this work! Love always,Soeur Shields
My new address is:Les Missionnaires Soeur Shields4 Ave de Maurin 34000 MontpellierFrance
My new address is:Les Missionnaires Soeur Shields4 Ave de Maurin 34000 MontpellierFrance