April 2nd

I am doing emails a little later than usual today! It has been a good preparation day. In fact this whole week has been wonderful, truly a week of miracles!

For starters...we found Florica!!! Quelle Bénédiction! So basically, wonderful experiences seem to always happen while we are on our way chez la famille Goyez for dinner. they invite us over a lot, and she cooks delicious and nutritious food! She is from Spain and he is from Equador, so we always have really interesting things to eat. Lots of paprika. last week we had fish! I love fish! It reminded me of home. ANYWAYS. So we get on the bus to go to their house, and at the stop just after ours a short lady, maybe around fifty years old or so, gets on the bus. I caught eyes with her for about a half second, and then quickly I realized it was Florica! We both smiled and jumped out of our seats to say bonjour and bissous. My heart was so full of gratitude! I explained to her how her phone number hadn't worked, and how we weren't able to find where she lives. Come to find out, we had been porting the wrong side of the building, and she is often not home at nights because of work...so it was seriously miraculous that we found her on the bus! We met up with her again on Thursday, and had such an amazing rendez-vous. Come to find out she was also deeply touched by our encounter on the sidewalk, and she was just as excited to see us again as we were to see her. She told us all about her life, the struggles she's been through and the things she's over come. As she recounted these stories, she did so with a glow in her eye, without one drop of malice towards anyone or anything, but full of gratitude for the Savior and His grace that has helped her overcome. Wow. Think of the hardest trial you have ever faced, then times it by at least three, and then ask yourself if you could smile and be forgiving. This is Florica. After getting to know each other better, we didn't have much time to talk, but we gave her a Book of Mormon and the pamphlet about the Plan of Salvation and she thanked us immensely, saying 'this is just what I needed, more of the word of God.' When we visited her the next day, she was already in 1 Nephi 5. And mommy, I remember one time when Spencer was on his mission, he said that he knew your prayers had blessed him. I am not sure why, but that was the thought I had when we found Florica, I thought, 'maybe my mom is praying for me right now' :) Thank you, and thank everyone for your prayers. They are heard by our Father in Heaven, and they are answered in small, yet significant miracles here every day. 

So General Conference! I am pretty sure all of the apostles and the Prophet wrote their talks specifically for me. Doesn't it feel that way when we are learning by the Spirit? But seriously, President Monson quoted my two all time most imporant, meaningful scriptures...what are the chances?One of these I believe is Hebrews 12:1-2 in the New Testament I learned so much about what I need to do and change in my life, I like that feeling. I watched it here at the Lausanne Stake center. We watched the two morning sessions live, the saturday afternoon session was broadcast sunday morning, and i still havent seen Sunday afternoon nor the young women's broadcast. I still have much to look forward to, including hearing our friend Elder Wilson! That is neat! Conference was nothing short of a miracle here. Soeur Paoli, my companion, contacted a girl named Andréa while we were street boarding the other day (that's where we bring out a big board with information on it and pictures and what not and invite people to talk more with us) and she ended up coming with her friend Alain. They are both from Benin, Africa. Its not often that people come to conference without any knowledge of the church, but these people really didn't know anything, and so I just encouraged them to pray in their heart that the Holy Ghost would manifest unto them if what they heard was tue. I know for a fact that Alain did that and that he recieved a witness that it was true, and that the Prophets spoke of Christ. Awesome! Sunday afternoon was also a miracle, we met someone on the bus on the way to Lausanne, and she dropped everything she was doing to come with us because she said she just loves Jesus Christ and wanted to spend all the time she could learning of him. NEAT! We had several other people come with us, including Florica, and as we guided them to the chapel Sr. Paoli and I felt like little shepherds with our fold, going to hear the word of God together. It was the best. 

Well, I feel really blessed. I feel really humbled. And I feel compelled to offer my thanks. I am thankful for the consecrated hours spent by church leaders, school teachers, extended family members, friends, whose dedicated service has blessed by life. For the lesson plans you revised, for the food you've provided, for the tears you've dried, for the laughter we've shared. I'm thinking of many of you, who are having birthdays, graduating from school, having a baby, taking care of loved ones, or going through other phases of life. I think of you, and I hope you are experiencing blessings of the Lord in your lives. I love you.

I am thankful for the consecrated hours of a devoted mother, who sang me lullabies as a child, who cheers me on to this day, who makes me feel special and needed, and appreciates beautiful things. Thank you for the sleepless nights helping me with art projects, and for the heartfelt prayers you give on my behalf. I love you, mom.  I am thankful for the consecrated hours of a loving father, who taught me how to ride a bike and built me and Spencer a treehouse, just because he wanted to, and how you helped our neighbor have an opportunity to serve us in the process. I am thankful for the LFD's lessons from dad and for the righteous way you act as a Priesthood holder, for girls camp hikes, for morning jogs. I am grateful that you baptized me. I love you, dad. I am thankful for the consecrated hours of my brother, Jay Spencer Waldron, that he spent in front of a computer screen in Tarapoto, Peru, answering the emails of his heartbroken sister. I am thankful for the hours you spent there walking dusty streets and proclaiming glad tidings of truth, many of which had been kept in a book written by their ancenstors. I am thankful for your example of thoroughness and dedication, and how it is evindenced in your notes in the TALL Spanish book I'm now studying. I am thankful for your advice, for all of the laughter we have shared, and for a giving heart. I love you, Spencer.

I am thankful most of all, and most humbly, for the concecrated hours spent by a loving Savior, in a lonely garden called Gethsemane. I am thankful that He chose to suffer His will to the Father so that we may repent and be free. May we all do this each day. I am thankful that He rose on the third day, and look forward to reverently remembering the power of His resurrection, and the hope of our own, as we celebrate Easter. I love my Savior. He truly is the author and finisher of our faith.

Have a wonderful week!

With love and gratitude, Soeur Sarah