L'amour de Dieu, sa force aussi

My dear, wonderful, perfect (for me you really are!) family!

The title of this email is my new favorite hymn, I love it with all my heart and and you should look it up in the cantiques and translate it. its great.  

I first just want to tell you how much I love La Mission Francaise de Lyon. I love my mission. I don't know how I could be more blessed than to be here, especially in my new area......BORDEAUX, FRANCE!!!!! (cue Aunt Leigh Anna shouting for joy.....) Yep, I am here....still have not stayed in a ville longer than two transfers...its quite the adventure. I am in what is now called the Eysines ward, but we live in Bordeaux and work here in the city...I am still trying to figure out our secteur. Its super beautiful here. My companions name is Sr Kohler, I knew her in the MTC as she is only one transfer younger than me. We're basically planning on having the best transfer ever. I feel super motivated to do my best, and love imagining my Aunt Anna talking with the same people or walking the same streets when she was on her mission here, I am so happy to continue your legacy!!!!

In a very personal way I just know that this is where the Lord would have me be right now. I remember when I got to Geneva I thought to myself nothing could get better than that, but I just had this peace as I left....Sr. Bicchierri is still there, and she is companions with Sr. Ellsworth, who was one of my collegues at the MTC. The are going to be a dynamic duo, and I can not wait to see all of the miracles that will happen. I'll keep you posted. 

So the last week in Geneva was pretty wonderful. We spent a great deal of it doing service, and I love that. I love to serve. I also love talking about the gospel. So basically the mission is the coolest thing ever. A few of the wonderful things that happened. Long story short, the Mongolian sisters reallllllllllllly needed a new apartment, and we have been helping them for months. At the last and critical moment, we found out that a woman in the ward had just had people move out, and was looking for someone to move asap, and we moved them all in saturday before I left. I wish you could understand what a HUGE miracle this is. We also continued to help Raouda move, I will miss her beautiful family. I did an exchange with Sr. Thompson, who was trained by sr. madsen right after i was, and she and I had one of the best days of my entire mission. We basically just loved people all day long and tried to be like Jesus, and we just smiled and laughed and cried and had a great day. Being with her in France made me miss france, and then voila now I am back! anyway, it was a great last week....I think for pretty much everyone in the mission. 

I got to say goodbye to all of the convertis, except Stephane. Will you please remember him in your prayers? and the Hernandez family, bibiana, kiara, and gabriel, could really use the help of our combined faith and prayers. Ony and Sampson both came to the gare to wave me off...they are living breathing witnesses to me that the Book of Mormon changes lives. I love all of these precious souls that I was able to teach and see enter the waters of baptism in Geneva, and even though its hard to say goodbye, I look forward to serving and loving new people here in France!

 

Please know I love you endlessly. Please know I love the Lord, and try and love Him more each day, even when its hard. I pray that my service here is able to bring blessings to your life. 

I know Jesus Christ is our Savior, He lives.

Bisousssss

Soeur Waldron

But with joy, wend your way

Hi!

Here is my one minute email. Isn't great that I'm so busy?

This was a good week, my companions and I are learning a lot together, and we could just really use prayers this week. It's Sr Bartlome's last week in the mission, so that's on the mind a bit.

We began serving a new family, the mother's name is Raouda and she was actually contacted by one of our amis...long story, but pretty great. We are helping them move, and its a happy thing to serve.

I hope you are having a wonderful pioneer day. This time last year I was getting ready to leave on a mission, and we were celebrating the day with our dear friends the Littlejohns. I love you littlejohn (adamson) family! we also saw the prophet. I remember he drove by in the parade in salt lake, and he saw a couple standing next to each other and he made them kiss...ha, I loved that. Every year on July 24 Utah celebrates the arrival of the first group of pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

You know what else I love? Changing through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love how its really difficult, and how sometimes we have to use all of our power to just leave behind that one thing that seperates us from Him, and how free you feel when you do it. I love how we can be sancitfied by the Spirit.

Something we've been talking about as a mission is forgiveness. I invite you to do the same thing we are all doing as missionaries in the France Lyon mission, and to think of a person, or a moment, or a thing that hurt you, really bad, and I want you to think about it and then experience the miracle of forgiving....just choose to forgive, and you will be free again. This person could even be yourself.

Some good things to read would be President Uchtdorf's talk from General conference, and Matthew 22, and Preach My Gospel chapter 6. I want to be more like Jesus. I want to feel more like Him. I want to love more like Him. This week, I am praying for charity, and I am praying for you.
God bless your souls.


Soeur Sarah Waldron

PS>
I just feel to say something. I love how everyone always thanks me for being happy. I love how every time I sit down to write about the week I can only think about the wonderfully incredible experiences I have. Contrary to how it may seem, my mission is actually the hardest thing I have EVER done, and there are moments where I too feel like I really just am not going to make it. But I always do, every time (and this is why I thank you so profusely for your prayers!!! I need them really bad!) And I really have so much to be thankful for, and so much to improve. But thanks so much for all your kindness. okloveyoubye



Here is the link to the conf. talk and the chapter in Matthew. Preach My Gospel is a missionary manual that can also be found on lds.org.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-merciful-obtain-mercy?lang=eng
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/22?lang=eng

We thank thee oh God for a prophet

Hi!

That is the song I am listening to right now. I really am thankful for a prophet. I read his general Conference address in the Ensign this week, the first one, and it was really a tender mercy. I love knowing that God has sent us a prophet again on the earth today, its really wonderful to me. He loves us so much!

So, it was a GREAT week! We began teaching 8 new people! And they are all wonderful! Four Mongolian men who Jenny and Jika brought to FHE, another Mongolian girl who I contacted last transfer, the cousin of Eric (the husband of the Malagasy family), and also Bibiana's Sister and her husband (and their son, but he's only seven.) NEAT! These are all really incredible people. I feel blessed to work among them and to serve and love them!

Some highlights from the week. Singing songs with Eric and Vero and Alain, and listening to them sing to us in Malagash. Seeing some of our wonderful amis and less active members we love come to church with us! Going to visit Ony and Shine and little Ujin. A huge Mongolian festival! It was a national holiday, and there were SO MANY Mongolians there! They danced and wrestled and I got to eat some yummy food. I really love their culture and their people, I was filled with this inexpressable feeling seeing them all there. I am so happy to experience these incredible cultures that make this life beautiful and interesting, and even more happy to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. (I still see Spencie in my minds eye with John Toth and his other friends doing their high school report on the Mongolian empire, ha! the best.) I love writing to you about these experiences because it helps me realize how special it is and how much I love being here and being a missionary, and how blessed I am.

I really know that the Book of Mormon answers the questions we have in life. I know that change is possible, and wonderful, and that we can become a little better every day. I know that life is more wonderful and beatutiful when we look at it through the lens of the gospel. I know that when we repent we can see ourselves and the world as they really are. I know that God wants us to be happy. I know that God lives, and that He loves His children. I know that there is nothing more beautiful than the eyes of His children, and they way they look when they are listening to us talk in His name. I love people. I love YOU, my people, my family and friends who give me more love and support than I could ever deserve.

Sorry to make this another short one, but just know that all is well and happy here. Have the best week ever, and just choose to be happy. It feels so good. If you're having a hard time doing that, go to mormon.org, or lds.org, and just fill your day with a little bit of truth and goodness. And then, say a little prayer of gratitude.

Avec beaucoup d'amour,

Soeur Waldron

Nous nous somes tous enrollés pour le grand combat! Partons Joyeux!

Hello dear family and friends,

 

I hope you all have a Happy 4th of July! So many of you have written lately or talked to us about Sarah's mission and we have appreciated your kind words and encouragement! She enjoys hearing from you and the things that are happening here.

 

I am not quite sure what the French in the subject line says but I am thinking it may possibly be a phrase from a hymn or song since she frequently does that. I tried Google Translate but it didn't quite make sense.

 

But, I am pretty sure that her greeting means Hello everyone! Then I think she is trying to tell us that this will be a short email. 

Laura

Bonjour tout le monde!

Hoping that you've had a lovely week! Malheureusement, le courriel sera court une fois de plus, mais bon c'est comme ça, le travaille continue trop vite! 

So, basically Geneva is great, my companions are wonderful, and God is a God of Miracles. I am learning and growing in faith, hope, and charity, and seeking to emulate the Christlike examples of those who surround me.

This week I really experienced the miracle of prayer and repentance, and know that as we do these things with an honest heart we have a better sense of who we are and an immense amount of peace. Thank you, dad, for your thoughtful email, it really touched me.

At the moment we are busy trying to help our converts integrate themselves into our wards, and we are also looking for new people to teach. It should be a busy and an exciting week! We will also be meeting our new mission president, President Roney and his family for the first time this Thursday at interviews, so we are excited about that.

 

President and Soeur Murdock surprised us by being there for sacrament meeting on Sunday (I totally spiritually created this happening....somehow I knew they would come). The last thing I had said to them last week was 'hey so is this really goodbye, because we keep saying goodbye and then seeing each other again!' Soeur Murdock and I both had the hunch we'd get another one in, and we did! I walked into the chapel and caught her eye and she just held out her arms 'we're here!!!!' and she gave me the greatest mom-hug. I imagine it will be like that when I see you again mom, only like a bajillion times longer. ha! I love them. They weren't wearing their tags, and President comes up and shakes our hands 'hello, I'm Brother Murdock.' Ha. I loved it. I loved that they sat next to Sampson. I loved that we had an incredibly powerful testimony meeting. I loved that one of the people that bore their testimony was Ony, and I loved that he talked about the birth of his BEAUTIFUL baby girl, and the love of God. (we went and visited them at the hospital yesterday and I about died, she is the cutest thing I have EVER SEEN!) I also loved the testimony of a man named Aaron, a member from Ghana. He described an experience that he had had earlier in the week while commuting downtown. He was approaching the tram at Bel Air (a somewhat central connection) saying that he was surrounded by noises of all kinds. Then, he heard something familiar, it was music. He followed the sound, and discovered it was the hymns of the church, as sung by the missionaries (us) and he came in and joined in the singing. He stayed with us over an hour, standing, and singing in French (which he doesn't speak) the hymns of Zion. this was a particular miracle for him because he had back surgery several weeks ago, and I am certain that is by far the longest he has stood since. Pretty incredible. He wisely counseled us that we need to learn the doctrines and hymns of the church, and continued saying that we need to pay attention to what we are listening to, and choose which voice to follow. He said it better than I did, but it was really powerful. This is all divine design! If Sister Bartlome hadn't been transferred here at the same moment they were doing the music festival with all of the pianos, we wouldn't have been able to experience this great miracle. Singing the hymns for the hustling crowd filled me with a sense of Showbiz spirit [Showbiz is the name of the performing group Sarah was a part of through middle school and high school] and I fondly experienced again what it is like to share my testimony thorough the creative outlet of performing. It was wonderful. The project in Geneva is called Jouez, je suis à vous.

 

Ok we have an appointment with the Portuguese family, but we still have email time left so perhaps I can get on later. If not, I just want to say your prayers are still bringing forth miracles in this work. Mom (ps your email was great, I loved the skunk stories haha!) Stephane had a great experience with a scripture from the Book of Mormon in Alma chapter 26 as well this week, and he lived a huge miracle! I KNOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS! We made him a box of 'cigarettes spirituelles' which are rolled up pieces of paper in a makeshift cigarette box, and on the paper there are scriptures written. There is a picture of Jesus on the inside, so that anytime he wants to smoke he can pull one out and remember his covenants and find strength.

So much more to say.

I love you. I miss you. I pray that God will bless and keep you this week and always.

Soeur Sarah