First Pday in the MTC!

Bonjour ma famille et mes amis!!

Wow! My first week in the MTC is already over! I can't believe it! So much has happened! Thank you Aunt Jennie, Nana and all of the girls for dropping me off at the MTC and taking care of me! It was really special and I'm so glad I got to spend time with you!

So, as soon as I got to the MTC I felt the Spirit so strongly and as soon as they pinned my name tag on I was ready to go and serve! I'm so lucky, my host sister who helped escort me around the first day was a sweet Tongan sister who knows the Schwenkes and Tausala! (Now, every time I see a Poly they get so excited when they find out that Fina is my Auntie!) So, she took me to my room first and Soeur Rasmussen (Meagan - a girl she already knew from Chandler) is one of my companions! We're actually a trio, so our other companion, Soeur Williams from Syracuse, Utah, she is such a peach! Oh my goodness I love her! She is so quirky and we all just get along so well! Our whole district does! We are already a family and have so much fun together. We decided that our district motto is: Reveillez le Dragon Dormant! (Wake the Sleeping Dragon) because when President Hinckley went to France he said that it is a sleeping dragon ready to be woken up and we are going to be the ones to do it!

So, on Friday we taught our first "investigator" Quentin... IN FRENCH!! I thought I was going to die because I was so nervous. I wrote out my whole part and started speaking and then he just starts giggling and asks me (in French) if I spoke Spanish... OH MY GOODNESS I WAS SO EMBARRASSED! Ha ha my face just turned red and I was like... uhhh... oui... haha but my French is getting better. I can now bear my testimony and kind of say a prayer. But I am the ONLY one in my district who never took French before. Two of the Elders and Soeur Rasmussen took two years, Soeur Williams and another Elder took 3 years, we have an Elder from Honduras and he is fluent in Spanish, English and French. Then we have another Elder from Malaysia and he almost fluent in French and English and he speaks like 3 different Asian languages... so, I started out feeling VERY scared and behind (I still do a little) but I'm just working as hard as I can and putting my faith in the Lord. 

Sunday was an amazing day. Our whole sacrament meeting in in French so that is a little bit hard, but for Relief Society, Janice Kapp Perry came and spoke to us! I cried a little when I found out because I was so excited. She gave a wonderful lesson and had us all sing a medley of her Primary Songs with her and the we stood up and sang "The Sisters of Zion." The Spirit was so strong and powerful, I loved it.

Then, like every Sunday here I guess, we went on a walk with our district to the temple. It was so nice and so fun to meet and talk with other missionaries!

Monday was .... magical. Well, that is what everyone going to Paris calls your first Monday. "Magic Monday"... we didn't know why but when we got back to our class Monday morning there was a picture of a toilet on our board. We found out when we got called up to the Health Clinic what Magic Monday was...
So, to be able to go in to Belgium - which is part of our mission- you have to be checked for parasites... through. your. poop..... so, we had to poop in a cup. Sorry, I know this is TMI but I had to share. It was gross...

Then, yesterday was so cool and so much fun! A few of us had to go to the French Consulate in San Francisco to get our Visas. We had to be at the travel office at 2 in the morning but it was still fun because we spent all day there and got home at like 9 pm. We went to the consulate first thing and that only took 45 minutes so we spent the rest of the day just hanging out in San Francisco. I told everyone we HAD to go to Boudin to get the delicious clam chowder in their sourdough bread bowls for lunch.

Then we spent some time at Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf:

And then we went to Chinatown, which was so cool because it was decorated for the Chinese New Year!

So, yeah, the MTC is great, my companions and district are FANTASTIC and the food here isn't that bad either (although I may start to get tired of salads and wraps soon...) I'm just so excited to be here and I know it is where I am supposed to be!

Je sais l'Eglise de Jesus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours est vrai! Au revoir!

Love, Soeur Ridd

My Decision To Serve

Ever since I was little I can remember wanting to be a sister missionary JUST like my mom. Every time I would envision myself as a missionary growing up I would naturally picture myself in France {with a beret on of course} saying "bonjour je m'appelle Soeur Ridd" because that was {pretty much still is} the extent of my French.
 My mom and dad were always so encouraging about me serving the Lord and both were great examples to me of missionaries. However, as I started into my teen years waiting until I was 21 to be able to serve seemed like forever but I still continued to have the desire and to prepare. Like many other sisters in my situation, when the mission age was lowered it seemed like a blessing specifically for me. I was beyond thrilled and the witness I received was overwhelming and I KNEW a mission was what I was going to do.
The day I finally was able to start my papers I was SO giddy and ready to just go! I could hardly wait to turn them in and receive my call. When I opened my call {September 21, 2013} and read "France, Paris Mission" my heart stopped. In that instant I was completely overcome with the spirit of confirmation that that was exactly where I was supposed to go. All the fear and anxiety that had been building up was gone and excitement and comfort took its place.

These last few months have seemed like years waiting to finally enter the field. With less than 2 weeks left now I can't wait to enter the field and help in the hastening of the Lord's work. I know this church is true with every fiber of my being. I can't even imagine where I would be without the comfort and truth and knowledge that comes from having the true gospel in my life. My testimony is so strong I just want to proclaim it to all the world and everyone I meet! I have felt the infinite love the Savior has for me and the comfort that comes from his atoning sacrifice. I want to stand as a witness of the Lord and serve him through serving others.
jusqu'à la prochaine fois,
Soeur Ridd