Soccer in a Skirt!

August 19, 2013

Howdy!! Well well well!! This has been such a fun week! Basically it was fun because we've met some great people. We were contacting in the Royal Jardin a few days ago and met these two women. I did the usual introduction and asked, “Would you like to know more about our message?” And the said, “Yes, lets sit right here on the grass and talk.” As we began talking to them they told us that they were into this meditating ritual thing and it helps people feel the light of Christ in our lives. She then asked if we would like to see how its done.  “Of course,” I said (hahha). So we sat cross-legged on the grass while they hovered there hands over our foreheads and we “meditated” there for about 10 minutes.  At around 9 minutes into this they started saying some yoga sounding chant thing.  I was trying so hard not to laugh and chuckle because I just kept thinking, is this against the white handbook rules?  After the “meditation,” we chatted about the Book of Mormon and other points of the religion. The best part about this whole experience was that we saw the Elders walk by and they came over to say hello.  I realized how strange we must have looked. There we were all sitting cross-legged in a perfect circle and our copy of the book of Mormon perfectly in the centre of the circle (#secretcombinations)??? Just kidding. The Elders faces were priceless! It was actually a really neat experience and I truly feel like we got to know those ladies simply because we took the time to listen to their ideas.  As a result, they were more than willing to listen to ours. Unfortunately they live in Carcassone :(.  This means we got to give their info to the Sisters in that area! Yeah, for all working on the same team! 

We also met this great guy while contacting. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and thanks to the persistence of my Bleu!! It was great! I contacted him by telling him that our church has 5 basic principles of our gospel and if we do our best to live by these 5 principles, we can have unimaginable joy! He was awesome and we were wrapping the contact up when my bleu pulls out a copy of the Book of Mormon and says, “C'est vrai! (Its true!)” and handed it to him! I just love her!! I wish I would have been more like her at the commencement of my mission! She is a great example and a very effective communicator.  This is one thing I am really learning from her. She is very patient with me. In fact, we have had some great heart to hearts and we are really supporting each other. I am excited for the rest of this time together! She is from Orem and went to Mt. View High School. She graduated from high school the same year I did and is in the Design Program at BYU. We are really using her talents for our gain (making flyers, etc.). It’s awesome. We had her first "magnez-vous" (manger=to eat, vous=you), So basically it translates to “you eat.” It’s the term we use to say we are going to eat at a member’s house! Our “magnez vous” was with La Famille Mayer. They are awesome!! It was so fun! It’s been great because my comprehension is way up and my speaking ability has really soared. I kind of feel like I am getting a personality! Hahah! This was hard for my bleu, however, because she didn’t really understand anything and I could tell she was frustrated with it.  Oh, I can remember feeling that way, believe me after all, it was just a few weeks ago that I was brand new! Hahaha. I will always whisper little things so she can follow along with what is being said and what is going on, etc.  It works great! I love working with the members! They are fabulous! 

We also had a ward activity on Saturday. IT WAS SO FUN!! We went on a hike...and got lost! This was slightly funny because we didn’t get the memo that we were hiking.  There’s nothing quite like getting lost in the woods in a skirt and flats! After finding our way again, we picnicked by a lake. I just love living in France. The BEST part of the picnic was I got to play...SOCCER! A bunch of the ward kids and I played together. After which they all thought I walked on water! Hahaha!  When they would choose teams, I would get picked first every time (brush my shoulder off). Eventually some dads joined in the game and that’s when it got real competitive! Actually, it was soooooo fun!! I felt like I really built some solid relationships through this.  Funny, just because I am athletic I was able to win their confidence and trust! Hey, I will take it, and do whatever furthers the work of salvation!! Hahaha. Just imagine me playing competitive soccer...in a skirt. It is true that Soeur Udulgie-Taulfik could not stop laughing at me.  She loved it! I just didn’t want to sit on a bench and watch. I had to play!  Especially since they all were way good! Overall the picnic was great!! I got to know loads more members and really connect with them! By the way, I also played bocci ball (actually that’s not what it is called that here).  DANG, the members are soooooooo good at it! Soeur Caldwell and I were killed by these two little French kids. It was pretty funny. I love the members here!

Things with our Amis are going well! Vacance (aka worst thing ever aka months of vacation) are almost over! Finally! All our Amis will be back into town! Hurrah! Little by little they are progressing! Overall things are great in Toulouse!! I love it here. I have a feeling that this might be my final transfer here and I could cry about leaving. God knows! I have been so blessed with a great companion, a great city, an awesome ward, and awesome Elders!  My fabulous District leader challenged us to do the 40-day fast purification process. It was so inspired. I was really lucky to have a wonderful DL and Zone leaders! Basically my mission has the best missionaries! 

So challenge of the week: Try something new! This week I tried contacting in a different way and even tried the meditating thingy (hahaha).  As a result, it brought about a lot of good. So break your routine and try something a little different.  You don’t know what your are missing until you try!! 

Keep being an inspiration!!