March 31, 2014 Free Bread!

Wow! Another week has come and gone! I still wake up every morning and smile when I remember I'm in France! I hope it stays like this my whole mission! So this week we had a good district meeting because Sœur Denning and I made legit crepes - whole wheat even! We put in chicken and spinach and yummy French cheese! We're pretty famous for our cooking! And then the Elders made chocolate mousse - so pretty much we are just loving all the French foods that we know how to make!

Since Sœur Denning and I both love to cook we decided to make something that we had seen on Pinterest (before our missions) but we had never really made before... ha ha we tried to make grilled bananas on the stove but couldn't really remember how to do it - we almost burned down the apartment!

So this week was fun (not) because I got a viral eye infection. I looked like Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I couldn't open my left eye at all and it was all red and itchy - it hurt so bad! So the doctor made me stay inside for two days (until the swelling and redness was gone). I probably should have stayed in longer but staying in was so hard! We just did a lot of training and contacting from calling people but man they say missionary work is hard, it's harder when you have to stay inside!! Even though I had to wear my ugly glasses and no make up all week, I felt SO blessed because the doctor said that it could last for a couple of weeks and really only lasted 4 or 5 days! The Lord really does look out for and bless his missionaries!

One day after we had a rendez-vous (appointment) with one of our amis we were just at the church and the youth of the ward were playing ping pong and so Sœur Denning and I used some of our lunch minutes and jumped in! It was so fun!

So even though it's really tempting all of the time and it always smells so dang good from the bakery we try not to spend too much money there! But we are seeing the blessing from living on the fourth floor above the bakery! At night they have left over bread that they have to get rid of so some nights they let us take some home! It is SO good! And mom, I've been making your famous bread dipping sauce! Don't be surprised when I come home like 20 kilos heavier because the bread here seriously is 100 times better and I don't even know why...

We have been doing what we call "Pacque Porting" which is a special way to go door to door sharing an  Easter message (Pacque = Easter) and it's been so fun to explore all these new neighborhoods!

But, let me tell you, it is hard work. We've been going all week this week and haven't gotten ANY new amis... I was feeling really down and discouraged because all I want to do is just share the gospel but no one wants to hear about it and sometimes I get so freaked out that French doesn't come out!! Or (like last night) I said "Bonsoir Monsieur" to a LADY... hahaha

I read Dad's talk about keeping your eye single to the Glory of God and I LOVE when he says that the Lord doesn't adjust his view to meet ours, the Lord's view has to be our focus. So I've really been trying to do that and to just understand that everyone has their agency. It still was pretty hard and after a night of 3 hours of porting I was feeling a little frustrated and decided to say a payer and I instantly felt better. I remembered in a talk that someone said to thank the Lord for our trials. So, instead of complaining like I had been tempted to do ALL night, I decided to thank the Lord for how hard it was and it was the weirdest thing - I felt better! No one let us in after that still, but it was okay because I realized that thanks to the enabling power of the Atonement the Lord can make our weaknesses strengths and I think I understand a little more that the Lord really is walking by our sides as missionaries and helping us with our work because that night I could literally feel the Lord's presence. Without that blessing, I probably wouldn't have been able to finish out with the strength that I had. I am SO thankful for this gospel and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that no matter what we're going through, he will be right there for us if we just humbly ask.

Thank you everyone for all of your support and love!! Enjoy General Conference this week!

Avec amour,

Courtney