On Tuesday we had "Finding Day" in the City of Villeneve D'ascq. For the month of March, (every Tuesday) we are going to an area in our district and spending the whole day contacting so we can help find them new amis. I started off the day on exchanges with Soeur Romney who is new this transfer. It was a good experience for both of us because we both really don't know French very well but it forced us to speak and really have to try to listen. We actually understood generally what was being said so we were able to communicate pretty well! It was pouring rain the whole time we were trying to contact so it was difficult to find people to talk with. We get along really well (besides the fact that she is from Boston so she likes the Red Sox) so we made the best out of it! We get to go on exchanges again this week so hopefully we have a little more success. After lunch, I went on exchanges with Soeur Gilbert. We decided to go knock doors so we found this cute little street. All the houses had little gates that we had to ring like a hand bell. I guess the neighbors didn't enjoy that we thought it was cute because they called the police on us.. Haha. It was about time to go back anyways so we just jumped on the bus and headed back! In the evening I went out "door knocking" with Soeur Clements and one of the members. We just went by the houses next to the church so most of the people already had heard of the church but we did find one family that said that the missionaries could come back!
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| Finding day with Soeur Romney! |
We had another lesson with our Ami Marie-Aude this week. We taught her about the "Plan of Salvation." She was super receptive and again asked really great questions. At the end of the lesson we again explained the importance of baptism and invited her to be baptized on April 23! She at first said that she thought it was too soon. We told her that we felt that she was ready and that we could teach her the things she needed to know before that date. She got tears in her eyes and said, "I accept!" She said that she doesn't do things unless she feels good about it but she has really good feelings about this so she knows that it is the right thing to do. A couple days after the lesson she was able to attend the baptism of the 8 year old girl that we have been teaching. I think it got her really excited because right after she kept asking if we had a "baptismal dress" for her yet and if we were going to have a "buffet of food" after her baptism too. It's fun to see how excited she is about being baptized and how happy she gets when she talks about the gospel!
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| At "La Seine" river (last week) |
Even in these short couple weeks we have been teaching her I have seen the joy that comes as her testimony grows into conversion. She reminds me of one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. In Alma 5:14 it says, "And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" She is starting to have more light in her countenance as her testimony grows and I can tell that her heart is changing because she is becoming converted. Conversion requires us to turn away from the natural man/selfish desires/sin and turn to God. Conversion requires action that will lead to change. She has decided to act on her testimony (the things she knows to be true) and get baptized, which shows that she is in the process of becoming converted. It makes me reflect on myself and my own personal conversion. It reminds me that we need to be constantly working on our own conversion. (Alma 5:26) "And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" Conversion is a process of a lifetime and if we stop acting upon the things we know to be true we will fall away and lose the joy we once felt. It is so important that we keep strengthening and staying true to our testimonies. Are we still as converted as we once were? Do we still experience the joy that comes from conversion? I know that there is no greater joy than that joy we fill when we are truly converted to the Lord. Elder Bednar said, "When we are truly converted we can be reassured that the things we are doing in our lives are in accordance to God's will." My challenge is that we all become more personally converted to the Lord. That might require us to give up something of our own selfish desire. I know that as we become more converted to the Lord we will feel greater joy than we have ever experienced! I'm grateful for this gospel. I'm grateful for the people that I have met here because I am supposed to be helping strengthen their testimonies but actually they are helping strengthen mine. Church is true. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Love, Soeur Johnson
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