Ello everybody! It was a pretty sweet week. I read a talk earlier and it explained that the message of the current living prophet is God's number one priority right now for the world to know. So, off the top of your head, could you tell me what President Monson's last conference address was about? I hope so, because that's the message that is the most urgent in God's eyes right now for His children to know. I'll tell ya anyways. It was all about the blessings we receive from attending the temple. This means that regular worship and participation in temple work is the most important thing to our Heavenly Father right now. The reason for which I'm especially moved by this subject this week is because of a new focus our mission is taking. We had leadership council this past week, and our president's message really inspired me. In case you are unaware, next year, France will have their very own temple! As a mission, we are taking a big head start on preparing this nation for such a sacred blessing. Why? Because exaltation is not possible without the temple. Woah! Did you ever think about that? You could live a very good life, be baptized, render all the service in the world, spend every minute of every day obeying the commandments, and still, it wouldn't be enough. You have to make the sacred covenants in the temple and then stay true to those covenants for the rest of your life in order to receive the highest degree of glory that our Heavenly Father has for us. As we teach people this concept more freely and from the very start of our lessons, their perspective will broaden but they won't lose their focus. Their focus will still be to get baptized, but they will just see it as a little step in the eternal process of coming unto Christ. Going to the temple to participate in the ordinances of salvation therein will become their real objective. And isn't that the real objective for us all? For those of you who live within a reasonable distance, do not hesitate another minute! Go to the temple! If there is a reason of personal worthiness preventing you from being able to enter, repent of those things and do not procrastinate it another second. There are anxious souls, your own family even, who want the same joy of eternal life that you want. Don't deny them of that for any excuse. Don't deny yourself the blessings of peace, comfort, and clarity that come from being in this sacred House of God. We have a promise from our prophet that in our Heavenly Father's House, "...we will be better able to overcome temptations and to bear our trials." He also tells us that, "In the temple we can find peace. As we attend the temple, there can come to us a dimension of spirituality and a feeling of peace which will transcend any other feeling which could come into the human heart...Such peace can permeate any heart--hearts that are troubled, hearts that are burdened down with grief, hearts that feel confusion, hearts that plead for help." I can't tell you what I'd give right now to be able to sit in the temple for just 5 minutes. So I hope that those of you who can go, do go. And to give you a quick update on some awesome things that happened this week. Well Saipo is now on track to get baptized the 16th of August! It was a really special moment when she finally agreed to it. We all got down on our knees together and she told Heavenly Father that this is her goal, and she asked for His help in accomplishing it. She showed Him her faith and her righteous desire to become part of His fold by being willing to make this goal. Then on Saturday a child in our ward got baptized so we brought her to that, and she is ready! But, she is deathly afraid of water....haha. Bless her heart. So, thank you for your prayers you've already given on her behalf, and please keep them going, they work! Gwen also came to the baptism and yesterday, out of the blue, he decided he wants to get baptized in September... WHAT! We freaked out a lot. The Spirit has a power that isn't make-believe. He really can change hearts after much heart-felt prayer. It's such a blessing to be a witness of this truth. Lastly, David and Silvia are as strong as ever. They persevered through all 24 hours of their very first fast, and even paid fast offerings. They told us it wasn't even hard, and that it actually felt good to know they were making a little sacrifice. So proud! Well, that pretty much sums up the highlights of the week. I deeply love this work and every trial and blessing that comes with it. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Love, Soeur Shields
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Gros Bonjour à tout le monde! It was an incredible week. I'd like to start by giving you a little definition found in the bible dictionary for one of my favorite words... MIRACLES: Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power. They are intended to be a proof that Jesus is the Christ. Miracles were and are a response to faith and its best encouragement. They are never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith. Miracles are a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If miracles cease it is because faith has ceased. My dear family and friends, our God is a God of miracles! His church is a living church. This means that the unthinkable, the improbable, and the seemingly impossible feats of life can and do happen! This is not just a thing that we read about in the bible, these miraculous manifestations of God still happen today. But as the scriptures tell us, they are wrought by prayer and faith. That is something Sister Monson and I do together a lot--pray for miracles and have faith they will come to pass. That's what we all can do! It works, I promise. I've kept a little journal every day of my mission where I write down a miracle I saw that day. This week especially it was chalk full of things I never thought I'd be writing. Let me tell ya about it. First I'll tell you about two inactive sisters. We had rdvs fixed with both of them this past week. We knew that with one of the sisters we would especially have to help her feel very loved and appreciated in order for her to hear us out. Well we got to her house and it was chaotic as she had been babysitting her grandkids for the past 3 days, and said she hadn't even had time to go get groceries and had nothing to give the kids. So, we volunteered to go grab her groceries for her. She so gratefully accepted and so we went and did that for her. One of my favorite things in the world is to see the light and joy that comes over one's face when you've been able to make their day in such a simple way. Long story short, with both of these two sisters, we made sure to follow up on Saturday about their plans to get to church. The follow up is so important! But anyways, yesterday at church, two more seats were filled with two more daughters of God. Lost sheep returning to the fold is a huge miracle. But it doesn't stop there! We took our amie Saipo to a sister's home in our ward for lunch. (Have I mentioned yet how important it is that you invite the missionaries to your home WITH their investigators? Because it makes all the difference.) On the way to her home, Saipo told us two amazing accomplishments without us even asking her about it. Keep in mind for about the past 10 chapters in the BOM we've been having to read them to her, because she has a hard time picking it up on her own. Also keep in mind that about a month ago we briefly brought up the word of wisdom to her. She said she would never be able to stop drinking tea. Well, out of the blue, she says to us, "I read the next chapter in the BOM. And I've decided I'm going to stop drinking tea." Our joy was so great. When an ami is willing to read their scriptures and break addictions, it is a miracle. And our little faithful Saipo was at church again yesterday. We will be trying to fix a baptismal date with her this week. Please pray for her! Also, since our lunch with her sister last week, her sister hasn't said anything about "staying away from the Mormons." I think her heart was really softened, which is another great miracle. Next comes two of my favorite people in the entire world--David and Silvia. Their progress is just out of control. I don't know if I've ever seen a more vivid example of the joy that comes with living the gospel principles. This couple went from being kind of at rock bottom to being the most delightful, in love, and bubbly people I know. First of all, on Saturday our ward had a temple trip. David and Silvia went along just to be able to see the temple. How cool is that! And during our lesson with them this past week, they told us they do FHE, scripture study, prayer, and have even begun to jam out to Motab on Sunday mornings! We invited them to read the gospel principles lesson before Sunday, so they could participate more in class. Then yesterday at church in our gospel principles class, they had kept that commitment and were giving some of the most wonderful insights on the lesson! The lesson was about fasting, and they even came up and told us on their own that they'll fast next week! They are superstars. Keeping commandments makes people happy! If you think I'm done, you're wrong. Our sweet amie Nadia is also on fire. She too went on the ward temple trip on Saturday! She felt a very special spirit there and is continuously eager to learn more and more. She soaks up everything like a sponge and lives and studies the gospel so faithfully. We rarely teach Muslims because it can be a seemingly impossible chance that they'll ever convert. But she is a living example that this gospel is for all, and any heart can be changed by the spirit of God. Lastly, our ami Gwen did indeed finish the BOM this week! He accomplished his 30 day challenge. That alone is a huge miracle. After he finished, he prayed to know if it's all true. He still feels like he hasn't received a clear answer, but that hasn't stopped him. He is now reading lots of conference talks that are helping him learn how the spirit works and how answers to prayers come. He still comes to church. He still prays. He is still doing what it takes to find his answer. He isn't giving up, and that is another wonderful miracle. Yesterday in church I gave a talk about what I've learned on my mission. What I told everyone was that on a mission, you learn that people can change. You yourself as the missionary learn how much better you can become. You also learn that no matter who you are or where you've been, the atonement works for everyone, and can change anyone. You get to see the gospel of Jesus Christ change hearts and minds. This is one of the most beautiful and joyful processes to be a witness of. However, these changes that we get to see in our friends, are not wrought about without us first wearing out our knees in praying for them. These changes are not possible without our constant love being shown to them. Differences are not made without us being bold and teaching these souls the right way. All in all, these miracles can not take place if we don't do something to demonstrate our faith to God that we believe that through Him, all things are possible. And then we thank Him...a lot. I love you all and hope you have a great week! Love, Soeur Shields
What an absolute blessing it has been to serve with these companions. Here we are preparing to say goodbye to the Roneys at our Last Zone Conference with them. Soeur Wolfe: companion December 2014-February 2013- Montpellier Soeur Gerrittsen: companion October 2014-December 2014- Chambery Souer Monson: companion May 2015-Annemasse Souer Wallace: companion April- May 2015-Nice Missing: Souer Magelby, Souer Kelsey, Souer Hall Bonjour à tous! So we're at the start of another transfer! Sister Monson and I are still staying here in Annemasse together again! Our 3rd transfer here together! We're super excited, because the longer you stay in a ville and with a companion, the more the work takes off. You both really know the people, and how the other works. And I didn't want to leave my family here. I love our amis, our members, and all of our sweet soeurs we take care of! Definitely wasn't ready for any goodbyes. We had a really miracle-filled week. I just want to fill you in on our amis, because they really are some of the coolest evidences of God's hand being so involved in this work. It's incredible to watch the spirit at work in the heart's of these people. I'm telling ya, we're really only here as a mouthpiece to teach and invite. This is in no way "my mission." I am purely just an instrument in the Lord's hands. I honestly feel like I've just now started to figure out how to be an effective teacher and servant of the Lord, and how to really fulfill my purpose. I guess that's why people say your last few months are your best! You get to put everything you've learned to use. First I want to talk to you about Saipo. She's our Cambodian amie that we found street contacting. This week we had some really special moments. We've invited her to be baptized several times in the past 2 months, but she keeps saying it's too complicated with her family being against it. So we've been teaching the lessons still, but holding off on the baptismal invite for the past few weeks. Well, we were in our lesson with her. Something I've been working on a lot this past transfer is asking more inspired questions in lessons. If we're doing all the talking, how are we ever going to know our ami's needs if they don't get a chance to open up? So, we got to the point where we should have started the lesson we planned. But I just didn't feel like it was right to go into that quite yet. I kept thinking to myself, "how can we leave this lesson with actual change and progress having been made?" So, I decided to just ask her some simple questions, like "have you noticed a difference in your life since before you met us and now?" Well, I'm very grateful the spirit directed that question, because that got her opening up more than I've ever seen. She opened up about how she has always been basically a doormat to her sisters, and ever since she's been learning with us, she feels like she has the courage to voice what she wants. But she said when she does bring up baptism to them, they shoot it down and say they'll basically disown her, and she doesn't want that. Right away my missionary purpose that we recite every morning came into my head. "My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, through faith, repentance, baptism..." I don't know if I've ever had a prompting so strong in a lesson as the one I did following that remark. My whole heart was burning and I thought if this next phrase didn't get out of me I'd just burst. Haha. It came out something like this, "Saipo, as representatives of Jesus Christ, we can promise you that if you want to get baptized, God will give you the courage to do so, and will provide a way for this to happen, and everything will be ok." She looked at us and said "Ok. I'll do it. What do I tell them?" So we did a little role play. Me and Sister Monson pretended to be her sisters and she practiced telling them that she wants to be baptized. We left that lesson with real progression being made, thanks to the spirit. Sometimes it's easy to think as a missionary about what everyone else is doing that you can't. But this day it really hit me that there are things I can do as a missionary that those who aren't missionaries can't. One of those very sacred and special things is that I can invite people to be baptized. We came back a few days later, and guess who unexpectedly showed up at her house at the exact same time as us? Her sister, and her sister's husband. That was no coincidence. It was our first time meeting them, and we really got to show them who we really are, and dispel their fears. Saipo had indeed told them about baptism, and they shot it down. But then God intervened and had us all show up, unplanned, at her house at the same moment. Because they got to see that we're only there because we love her sister and want to help improve her life, their hearts were softened a lot. She even invited us to lunch today. It went great. She told us that she sees we are good people who are making her sister happy. Pretty cool, huh? I'll give you a brief overview of our other amis. David and Silvia still come to church weekly, and yesterday they told me, "we had our first FHE together last night! And we did the Christlike attribute test in PMG that you gave us!" They are so sick. Everything is still on track for his baptism and their wedding in November. Nadia is literally an angel. She is making serious plans to try to move to SLC because she wants to be surrounded by the Mormon culture. I'm so grateful we opened our mouths to her at that bus stop a few months ago. She is more diligent in her gospel study, keeping commandments, church attendance, etc. than most members I know. She is Muslim, so baptism will be complicated, but I know God can and will provide a way for any willing heart to come unto Him. Lastly, Gwen. About a month ago, we gave him his challenge to finish the BOM in 30 days. (He was half-way through) He will finish it this week. He teaches us lessons out of PMG and his lesson this last week was incredible. He understands it all so well. We even had him put on our plaque and called him Elder Biangi. He taught it better than I could have. We've been fasting and praying so hard this past month that once he finishes reading this week that he'll receive and recognize his answer that he should be baptized, and that he'll then act on it! If you could all join in our prayers this week for these of my friends, I would really appreciate it. Prayers work! God listens. He responds in His time and in His way, but He does respond! I love this work. I love finding my friends. I love helping them change. I love watching God love His children. I love seeing the value that each of them have. I love my Savior. And I just love being a missionary! :) Love always, Soeur Shields
Bah bonjour everybody! It's been a really powerful week. I've been studying a lot lately about how to become a completely consecrated missionary, and how to really truly give myself over to the Lord, so that I may be shaped into the person that He wants me to be. As the amount of months I have left on my mission become fewer and fewer, my urgency to allow the change come over me that He has intended for has increased. I've started a journal listing all the reasons why I'm grateful for my mission, with all the things I've learned so far. The list is very long, and still growing. But I have to say that the biggest thing I've noticed in common among all of them is the ability I have to change. I can become better. And that is all thanks to the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To allow change to come over you, to really use the Atonement, it requires complete submission. You cannot be changed to become more like God if within your heart and mind you fight against Him, or resist and resent and just hold fast to what you would rather do. And what you would rather do may not be bad things! But is it what He wants you to do? God cannot work on what He does not have...and the one thing we can give to Him is our will. He gave us the gift of free will, so it's the one thing we can submit to Him. So He cannot have you unless you give yourself to Him. So, I offered a prayer of submission to my Heavenly Father this week. I don't want to go into all the details, because it's sacred to me. But I do want to tell you that when you make your desires known to God to completely give yourself to Him, He listens, and He rapidly begins the "molding process." I feel that for too long I've been serving God with all my might and strength, but not necessarily all my heart and mind. He requires all 4. When you serve with all your might and strength, a lot of wonderful things happen and many lives are blessed because of your good works. However, you yourself aren't susceptible to all the happiness and change that could have come over you, had you done these works with the right heart and mind as well. You really can't be happy in the work of the Lord if you don't want to do those things that lead to happiness, even if you do those very things. It is not our acts alone, but the intentions and desires of our hearts that bring about true happiness and change. And that is why we are here...to change. We have a nature, but we do not have to, (and God does not want us to) just continue on in our "natural ways." He literally can change our very nature. With our flaws we often think, "well, I'm just that way. It's just who I am..." But that is contrary to what God's plan is for us. His plan is one of progression, of improvement, and of change. He's serious when He says He will help us become like Him. But that requires a desire and total submission on our part. How beautiful is that, that we do not have to be stuck with any single weakness! We can make every single one of them a strength. Your world is in your head, so if you get your head right, your heart will follow. If you constantly turn your thoughts towards the Savior, and what He would do in any given situation, your very nature will change and you'll become more like Him. Learning self-mastery over my thoughts is something I've been working hard on this entire transfer, and it's hard, but it's possible. Anything is possible with God. I saw first-hand this week this change taking place amongst those I get to serve. All of our amis are letting the atonement change them. And that is our goal here as missionaries, to help people change by using the Atonement. Saipo, David and Silvia, Nadia, and Gwenael are all coming to church every week. They love the gospel and they love learning more about it. There was a missionary fireside last night and Nadia and Gwen stayed for that. Nadia even stayed for both of our wards with us! Gwen is about to finish the BOM for his very first time, and has promised to pray once he's finished to know if it's true and if he should get baptized. Wonderful families in our ward had us over a lot with our amis, and that is the key...our amis get to see first-hand the happiness that comes from centering your family on Christ. I hope you all invite the missionaries over with their investigators! I've just been amazed this week to see God's hand in this work and the miracles of change that can be brought about when we submit ourselves to Him. I love to see the happiness increase in our amis as they align their will with God's. It's one of the most fulfilling experiences to watch those you love do it, but it's even more fulfilling to feel those changes come over yourself. I'm so grateful for my Savior and His Sacrifice that makes this even possible. Bisous! Have a great week. -Soeur Shields
Bonjour à tous! I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July! I sure did. Allez le bleu, allez la blanche, allez la rouge! This week was really cool as we got to welcome our new President into the mission. The Browns are incredible! I don't know if I've ever met 2 people who are more sincere, compassionate, and really emulate the light of Christ. We miss the Roneys dearly, but I know that when the Lord called me to this mission, He knew I would need to serve with both of these families. There are innumerable lessons that I will carry with me from the rest of my life from the Roneys, but I know there are new lessons I need to learn from the Browns for the end of my mission. One of those that I really took away from President Brown already is about the priesthood power. I have realized on my mission just how real this power is. God has given His actual, tangible, miracle-working authority and power to the worthy holders of it here on earth. I'm speaking directly to the men out there who hold this sacred power--do you ever stop and think about what it is that you actually are entitled to and given the responsibility to do as a priesthood holder? Jesus Christ, the greatest of any person to ever walk this earth, devoted His entire life learning about the gospel, serving others, and blessing other's lives. How was He able to spend an entire earthly life doing that? Wouldn't that be exhausting? Well, the answer is this: His Father gave Him the power to SERVE. Think about that. We are promised in the scriptures that we must do all we can do, and after that, God will "reach our reaching." He will step in and give us where we lack. My brothers out there, you have been given power to serve beyond a capacity that is normal, beyond the capacity that you even think you have. You have literally been given the blessing and responsibility to have the ability to do more than the average. You have been found worthy to have power that will allow you to physically, mentally, and spiritually go above and beyond the mark, in terms of devoting yourself to service. So my question to you is this: What do you do to be more than average? What do you do to go above and beyond the mark? What do you do that shows God that you recognize He's given you the strength and ability necessary to bless His children in ways that only you can? Do you even want to do more, to actually try to reach what you're capable of? Please don't take this power you've been given for granted or lightly. God has literally told you that He is giving you power to make you capable of endless service. Do you trust that? Do you believe He will really reach your reaching? I would hope that as a priesthood holder, you recognize that you hold a bit of the character and abilities of Christ within you. I've never heard Christ say He didn't have time, He was too tired, too busy, or had already done enough. So, I hope that at the bare minimum, you fulfill your specific callings. That you do your home teaching. That you go out and help the missionaries in your ward. That you grow your testimony daily by scripture study and prayer and weekly church attendance. I hope you go to the temple often. I hope you regularly have FHE, family prayer, and family scripture study. I hope you let your wife know how appreciative you are of her, and how much you love her. Or if you're not married, I hope your siblings and parents know that. I hope your children can say that one day they want to be the kind of husband and father that you are. And if you don't have kids, I hope you're striving to learn from the best examples of how to do this. Doing these things is the average. That is what a man is capable of doing. But you have been given the power of God to be able to do more. And He expects more. So pray, fast, get off the couch, off your phone, off your video games, off of ESPN, and figure out what more you can do. I promise you, you'll find more people to serve than you ever thought possible. I realize I speak really bluntly. But I feel as though I must. I feel that because of the experiences God has given me on my mission, He has wanted me to learn these lessons so I can go out and share them. I have seen many times, this past week in particular, the difference in happiness of families where there is a father or son or brother who understands this, and families who don't. I of course commend all of you for what you do, and thank you for it. And I also know that women are expected to go above and beyond in a life-time of service as well, just in a different way. But I'm not talking about that today. I'm talking to every man and boy out there who holds the holy priesthood of God. If you're unsure of what to do, pretend you've got a badge on like the one I have, or perhaps one you once wore as a missionary. Cover up your name. Literally take yourself, your human weaknesses, and your human setbacks out of the equation. Just look at what remains. The name of Jesus Christ, and His church. You can then tell yourself "I am a representative of Jesus Christ, and I will be capable of doing anything He needs me to do to build up His church." What would He do? That's what I do when I need to figure out what more I can do, or how to overcome my weaknesses. All can be made strengths through Him. I love you all! Have a great week. Love, Soeur Shields
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