Love Me Some Members!

Monday, September 2

Another week has just flown by.....oh my word....time is going way to fast!! I have my five month mission anniversary on the 3rd of this Month!!! WHAT?! I am slightly freaking out! I am almost a 3rd of the way done with my mission.  I could cry. I LOVE it. LOVE IT!! Everyday...even the ones that are really rough and hard are soooo worth it! So things are going great here in Toulouse. News of the week....our investigator from way back from my 1st transfer, who moved to Australia, IS BACK!!! I got a text from her and about dropped the phone! I can’t help but feel that is one of the reasons I have been sticking around in Toulouse! We had breakfast with her Saturday and she just broke down...she just isn’t happy. I am really excited to start working with her again and bring the joy of the gospel to her!! She has even been reading her Book of Mormon while in Australia! Other big news is our other investigators are also better at reading the BofM! And he even texted us, "hey save me a seat today, I am coming to church!" BOO YA! Things are slowly looking up! But it is going slowly and that is just one thing I think I am going to have to adjust to.  My personality is just go, go, go! But this work takes time. The work is good, however, and we have had some great numbers this week! Our mission is starting to keep track of “member experiences” (experiences to build members faith/visits...) Soeur Caldwell and I blew it out of the water we had 10! Then add on top lecons taught, the less actives we are reactivating, and all other aspects of missionary work...it’s been a great week! It has also been a week filled with lots of learning experiences. My companion is great. I am grateful for her and all she does. 

Sooooooooo Its time for a cat story :) I got attacked this week!! Which only made my hate for cats grow stronger. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE KITTENS...but any thing older...not a fan. I basically just got scratched by the darn thing. So I really love personal study because it gives me time to dive into the gospel while also thinking about life and eternity.  Basically my mind gets blown away every morning (hahahaha). But I was sitting in my rolly desk chair contemplating the next year and a half and wow, that isn’t a lot of time.  In fact, I only have about a year left and another transfer is coming to a close! WHAT?! I don’t want time to go sooooo quickly. I am in love with the people, the work, and of course, THE FOOD (hahaha). I just realized the importance of forgetting yourself. Now the cool part about forgetting yourself is that you don’t have to be a missionary to do this. Most people are afraid that if we forget ourselves, then we will never get ourselves taken care of BUT...we will. Just think. If EVERYBODY forgot themselves, then all everybody would be doing was charity/service for others.  This makes it impossible for a person to refuse acts of service as well. So that is what I want your challenge to be this week: A week of completely forgetting yourself. Even if its super inconvenient for you, even if you get nothing in return, please FORGET YOUR SELF. Now this is not an easy task because our very human nature goes against this concept. Our hunger, our tiredness, our…well, basically everything. And also go to the temple. Sigh. I REALLY miss it. 

I was really sad to hear about the updates from home. Yet another Richardson girl knee surgery....GREAT. Now I am going to tear something...for some reason when one of the girls does it then the other one follows.  Oh wait, I did my meniscus in the Fall--so I think we are now even!! If not, please don’t tell me. I don’t want any bad karma (hahaha). God is very aware of our situations and needs. She can take comfort in that. I know it. 

Oh in case you were all wondering...yes, I am still reigning champion at ping-pong. I played a guy from Paris and while it was a close one, I still beat him 21-17.  Thus, all is well in Zion (aka Toulouse) because it’s the best place in the world! 

        Soeur Calwell is doing really well and is being able to use her talents in awesome ways! Love her! 

Have a great week everyone! Forget yourself, and remember the Lord!!!