SO last Sunday we had a dinner appointment with a member. She told us that one of the older ladies in the ward was saying to people that she didn't think I could speak french. It really bothered me especially because I had never talked to this particular sister before. So as I thought about it this week I decided to make a point to talk to her on Sunday just to prove to her that I could speak some French. I know a little prideful but It made me mad that she was spreading rumors and she had never even talked with me before..... so anyway yesterday right after church we had another ward picnic. This time because the Bishops daughter was being baptized. Lets just say the bishop really knows how to feed people. but during the lunch I went and talked with the sweet sister. She was baptized 47 years ago and helped build the chappel here in Nice. Her name is Soeur Carbonne I think that is how you spell it. Now she knows that I can kind of speak french....
As for the work it is going well. All day we are teaching. One miracle for the week was Wilfried. He is a student here, 25 and just starting his finals. Soeur Mongas has been trying to call him for 3 months now and he hasn't responded that was until Monday night he called her back and wanted to see us. he had been taught by some sisters before but didn't have the time to continue to be taught. We got to meet him and start teaching him. He is amazing. He has such a strong faith in Christ. He is very humble and receptive to the spirit and the gospel, and to make it even better he came to church! without an hesitation he was like ya I will be there on Sunday.
I don't know if i told you about Rossni or not but she is a student as well. She has been progressing really well until a couple of weeks ago when we asked her if she would be baptized and she wanted to but she needed to talk with the Mom first. For three weeks we prayed and encouraged her finally she did it!! Her mom gave her the go ahead!! so we will see what happens when we meet with her tomorrow.
I can Everything else is going good. like everyone I have my good and bad days. I continue to see the power of the gift of tongues in just little ways each day. Heavenly Father Provides for his servants.
Monday, June 15, 2009
June 8, 2009
This has been a weird week. We had a "bleu's conference"(conference for all the missionaries that got here the same day as I did) at President's on Wednesday. so tuesday night Soeur Mongas and I went and said with the sisters in the next city. She stayed there while me and Soeur Call went to Toulouse. it was an early morning. the train was supposed to leave at 615am. Soeur call and I were sitting on the Train and they made an announcement that we didn't really understand we got the jist that the train was being delayed for 2 hours. SOmeone farther down the track had jumped infront of the train. No trains were coming or going. That was an interesting couple of hours we had to figure out how to work the payphone because they don't take change you have to buy a special card for them. It was quite comical. The rest of the day was amazing. It was really good to be back with my friends from the MTC. We had so much f un sharing stories. WHen we finally got to Toulouse Soeur CArter had made us an amazing lunch!!! We got some great counsel from President and played a french game. President is awesome! Needless to say felt revived and ready to take on the world. The days are kind of blending together. I can't remember what happens which day. But I love it! We have had some awesome lessons this week. Anastacio continues to progress. I don't know if I told you this but he loves to cook for us. and he is a really good cook! It is a good thing that we walk a lot. This week has really been a testimony builder for me of the importance of the plan of Salvation. We have two new amis that are Jehovah's Witness couple. They are very interesting to teach. Their doctrines are so messed up. I don't get it at all. It is so mentally exhausting. I loved fast and testimony meeting yesterday. THere is one language in the gospel everyone understands and that is the language of the spirit. there is such power in someone's simple testimony. there were many that I didn't understand with my mind but with my heart i kenw exactly what they were saying! It was an absolutely amazing feeling. They do a big lunch after the block. It was pretty fun. everyone Brings something and they have a picnic of sorts. Today we went to Monaco! It was so pretty there. It is a very clean city. We went with some of the elders in our zone. they all went to an aquarium but soeur Mongas and I wandered around this really cool garden and were just outside. For me that was perfect. We were really close to the sea and could hear the waves crashing against the rocks. The Our bishop has a restaurant in Monaco so we decided to stop in and see if he was there. He wasn't but his wife was and she gave us lunch. I had a calzone!!! when I say a calzone it was huge and tased absolutely amazing!! Deb could take some serious lessons. I couldn't eat it all. then she gave us dessert! Basically she gave us a 20 euro meal for free. She is amazing! the Members here are awesome. THey love to feed the missionaries and are always willing to come teach with us. So in answer to someone's question I love the food! I do have to say that some of the cheese is nasty. I love the nutella, and the bread. I do have to say that miss my peanutbutter. They don't have it here and the french people think it is disgusting.
Monday, June 1, 2009
June 1, 2009
This is from todays email from Jenni:
This week has been a good week. I can't believe how fast it went. I have realized how blessed I have been my whole life to live in Utah with so many members and so many temples. Soeur Mongas and I have taught about temples a coulpe times this week the picture we use is a picture of the Salt Lake temple. For the saints here it is mearly a dream to one day go there. Not even to go in but to just see the Salt Lake Temple. We were talking one morning about temples in general and Soeur Mongas Explained that the saints here dream of the day that they will have a temple in France. FOr them they have to travel 7-10 hours to get to the nearest temple. They go for a week and do work every day for that week. I was thinking how at home there are 10-12 temples within a 7 hour drive. Because they are so close we don't realize what a great blessing it is. I will forever be grateful to have the temples close. French is still coming. Each day I understand something new. I finally figured out that if I write it down what I want to say I remenber it better.We continue to teach Anistacio he is progressing really well. I can't remember exactly what it was we were going to teach him the other day but that morning I practiced and wrote down what I wanted to share. Throughout the day i continued to run through it in my mind. When we finally got to his house and started teaching I was able to say what I needed to. It was pretty smooth coming out of my mouth. i know that Heavenly Father was helping me. I realized after taht lesson too how much you grow to love a person that you pray for and study for. You can't really help but love them. I realized that night that it is possible to love people that you don't understand and have know only for a short time. So I have to explain a little about Nice. Everyone here lives in apartments. the first floor of most apartments is usually little shops. These shops are so cool. Above these is apartment 5-7 stories of apartments. there is no such thing as a house here in the city. when you go farther out there are some. So that has been really weird. Our house is a mansion compared to these apartments. I laugh because most of our amis live on the top floor too so if there is no elevator we walk a lot of stairs :) and to get into the buildings it is like on the movies you have to find the name of the person and then push the call button to call up to their apartment to see if they are home. Its so crazy. Another thing I love is each morning along the sides of the road there is basically a farmers market. Everyone is selling their fruits, veggies, or flowers. They set up around 8 in the morning and take down around noon or 1. It really is the coolest thing. Mom you would love it! Most people will go down and buy only what they are going to eat for the day. and do that each day. Things are still going well. I love you! the work is going well I can't complain. I pray that I am doing the best i can each day.
This week has been a good week. I can't believe how fast it went. I have realized how blessed I have been my whole life to live in Utah with so many members and so many temples. Soeur Mongas and I have taught about temples a coulpe times this week the picture we use is a picture of the Salt Lake temple. For the saints here it is mearly a dream to one day go there. Not even to go in but to just see the Salt Lake Temple. We were talking one morning about temples in general and Soeur Mongas Explained that the saints here dream of the day that they will have a temple in France. FOr them they have to travel 7-10 hours to get to the nearest temple. They go for a week and do work every day for that week. I was thinking how at home there are 10-12 temples within a 7 hour drive. Because they are so close we don't realize what a great blessing it is. I will forever be grateful to have the temples close. French is still coming. Each day I understand something new. I finally figured out that if I write it down what I want to say I remenber it better.We continue to teach Anistacio he is progressing really well. I can't remember exactly what it was we were going to teach him the other day but that morning I practiced and wrote down what I wanted to share. Throughout the day i continued to run through it in my mind. When we finally got to his house and started teaching I was able to say what I needed to. It was pretty smooth coming out of my mouth. i know that Heavenly Father was helping me. I realized after taht lesson too how much you grow to love a person that you pray for and study for. You can't really help but love them. I realized that night that it is possible to love people that you don't understand and have know only for a short time. So I have to explain a little about Nice. Everyone here lives in apartments. the first floor of most apartments is usually little shops. These shops are so cool. Above these is apartment 5-7 stories of apartments. there is no such thing as a house here in the city. when you go farther out there are some. So that has been really weird. Our house is a mansion compared to these apartments. I laugh because most of our amis live on the top floor too so if there is no elevator we walk a lot of stairs :) and to get into the buildings it is like on the movies you have to find the name of the person and then push the call button to call up to their apartment to see if they are home. Its so crazy. Another thing I love is each morning along the sides of the road there is basically a farmers market. Everyone is selling their fruits, veggies, or flowers. They set up around 8 in the morning and take down around noon or 1. It really is the coolest thing. Mom you would love it! Most people will go down and buy only what they are going to eat for the day. and do that each day. Things are still going well. I love you! the work is going well I can't complain. I pray that I am doing the best i can each day.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
May 26, 2009 Update
This is an update and recap from Jenni's email this week.
So I was thinking a little bit about President Erying Talk a few conferences ago when he talked about looking for the tender mercies of the Lord each day. I've tried to do that and pay special attention to even the little miracles i see. I testify that it works. Right now we have two amis that are really progressing. the first (I can't remember if I told you about any of them last week so if I did sorry) Anistasio he is originally from Portugal he has learned French over the last few years. He is so humble and very prepared for the gospel. We had the chance to teach the plan of Salvation earlier this week during the lesson soeur Mongas talked a lot about baptism. At the end of the lesson he said someting to the effect that little by little he wants to follow, he feels all the things we tell him make sense and are true. The spirit really has touched his heart. Friday and Saturday this last week were fruitless days. all of our appointments cancelled and all of our passby people weren't home either. So we didn't really get anything accomplished. Saturday night during planning we planned Sunday with 5 lessons all with different members and we were also fasting with one of our amis. We prayed that all of our lesson's would go through and that Rossni would get her answer. Sunday morning we got up and went to church. I was really excited because I could enderstand just a little more than I could last week. right after was our first lesson with Rossni. Usually during the lesson she will mostly listen, when ever we would ask a question she would give really short replies and not say much in general. On Sunday we watched part of the Special Witnesses video then Soeur Mongas was talking to her trying to ask quetions to get her to say something. Finally she asked the right question. (don't ask me what it was because i really didn't understand.) She started crying and got up and walked out. We waited a minute then followed. She completely opened up. She admitted she had a testimony and that she knew what we had been teaching was true. It was a really cool experience to see how sometimes it takes asking the right questions and not settling for an easy answer to get someone to talk. The rest of our lessons Sunday worked out. WE were able to find 3 new amis and teach all of our lesson's with a member. Heavenly Father blesses us so much when we give all that we can and do our best. Yesterday was Zone Conference. It was actually combined with another zone so we had to go another town about 3 hours away from here. I can't remember what it is called. We had to catch our train at 6am meaning getting up at 4:30. so really i was up before you had probably gone to bed Sunday night. Crazy! I was so tired. On our way there I stared to have this mental struggle. Satan knew i was tired and he worke don me the whole way there. I started to feel so insecure with speaking and understanding French. We were traveling into another city that I wasn't familiar with, I started to think about home and my family it was just a bad struggle. When the conference finally started i treid to push it all aside and focus on what President and Soeur Carter were teaching. It kind of worked. But then after lunch I had a total break down and started crying. You know how I get when I get really tired and stressed. I felt so dumb. but after crying for awhile I felt better. The spirit really touched my heart and by the time we left the conference I was feeling so much better. Even today I have felt that I can do this there is no way Satan can talk be into giving up. no matter how hard it gets. I love this work. I'm trying to Love FRench and the French people. Heavenly Father is by my side helps me a lot.
So I was thinking a little bit about President Erying Talk a few conferences ago when he talked about looking for the tender mercies of the Lord each day. I've tried to do that and pay special attention to even the little miracles i see. I testify that it works. Right now we have two amis that are really progressing. the first (I can't remember if I told you about any of them last week so if I did sorry) Anistasio he is originally from Portugal he has learned French over the last few years. He is so humble and very prepared for the gospel. We had the chance to teach the plan of Salvation earlier this week during the lesson soeur Mongas talked a lot about baptism. At the end of the lesson he said someting to the effect that little by little he wants to follow, he feels all the things we tell him make sense and are true. The spirit really has touched his heart. Friday and Saturday this last week were fruitless days. all of our appointments cancelled and all of our passby people weren't home either. So we didn't really get anything accomplished. Saturday night during planning we planned Sunday with 5 lessons all with different members and we were also fasting with one of our amis. We prayed that all of our lesson's would go through and that Rossni would get her answer. Sunday morning we got up and went to church. I was really excited because I could enderstand just a little more than I could last week. right after was our first lesson with Rossni. Usually during the lesson she will mostly listen, when ever we would ask a question she would give really short replies and not say much in general. On Sunday we watched part of the Special Witnesses video then Soeur Mongas was talking to her trying to ask quetions to get her to say something. Finally she asked the right question. (don't ask me what it was because i really didn't understand.) She started crying and got up and walked out. We waited a minute then followed. She completely opened up. She admitted she had a testimony and that she knew what we had been teaching was true. It was a really cool experience to see how sometimes it takes asking the right questions and not settling for an easy answer to get someone to talk. The rest of our lessons Sunday worked out. WE were able to find 3 new amis and teach all of our lesson's with a member. Heavenly Father blesses us so much when we give all that we can and do our best. Yesterday was Zone Conference. It was actually combined with another zone so we had to go another town about 3 hours away from here. I can't remember what it is called. We had to catch our train at 6am meaning getting up at 4:30. so really i was up before you had probably gone to bed Sunday night. Crazy! I was so tired. On our way there I stared to have this mental struggle. Satan knew i was tired and he worke don me the whole way there. I started to feel so insecure with speaking and understanding French. We were traveling into another city that I wasn't familiar with, I started to think about home and my family it was just a bad struggle. When the conference finally started i treid to push it all aside and focus on what President and Soeur Carter were teaching. It kind of worked. But then after lunch I had a total break down and started crying. You know how I get when I get really tired and stressed. I felt so dumb. but after crying for awhile I felt better. The spirit really touched my heart and by the time we left the conference I was feeling so much better. Even today I have felt that I can do this there is no way Satan can talk be into giving up. no matter how hard it gets. I love this work. I'm trying to Love FRench and the French people. Heavenly Father is by my side helps me a lot.
Monday, May 18, 2009
First Email from France:)
This is excerpts from Jenni's first letter home and I am leaving them unedited (good luck deciphering what it really says):
So you thought my spelling was bad before you are in for a treat now the French Keyboard is just a little bit different than the a,erican one for example the a and the q button are switched and I cant find the period so this ,ight be one long run on sentence, other than in french the comma is our period,
They took all of us to the Bus station and dropped us off, If you look at a map you will see toulouse is on one side of the country and Nice is clear on the other side, we were on the bus from about 11am until about 830 PM, I got to see so much of the country side and glim^ses of teh cities, Everything is so green and pretty, There were red poppies everywhere, So pretty! > my first day in Nice was not a typical day either the elders had arranged for us to help a member that lives out in monoco do some gardening, It was awesome, I have to tell you first that everywhere we go it is by the tram or the bus, to go to monoco we took the bus, there were 2 other members with us who dont speak french so that was fun to actually speak in english, as we traveled through monoco we were actually on part of the track for the Monte Carlo race, it was really cool to see that, I hope you dont mind you are getting a play by play but it is all so interesting so far i dont know what i can leave out: but anyway,,,That night we had 2 teaching appointments with a member named nelly, the only way I can explain nelly would be to have you picture Aunt Kathy as an active new member, When you picture that you have Nelly She is awesome we teach a lot with her, > French People speak so fast, most of the time i have no idea what they are saying it get frustrating but at the same time i try as hard as i can to listen and figure out what they are talking about: so far in our lessons i will bezar my testimony at the end and that is about it, but ca va, I have been really lucky to be here Soeur Mongas had been teaching a man named Marc and a Woman named Violette who were both baptized on Saturday, So my first week here I witnessed two of Heavenly Fathers children returning to him making covenants with him, That itself was really cool, I was so overwhellmed by the time we left I just started crying, I hadnt understood anything and was so frustrated, I was glad we were going home, Yesterday at church it was better; I pray everywhere we go that i will be able to understand something, and at churhc I did understand so,ethings, still not much, it was funny when the 2nd counselor in the bishopric announced that there were 2 new missionaries in the Area me and an elder Miller, Then he said we would like to have them come and tell a little us where they are from and share their testimony, That was actually fun, It was broken French but it was something that i have parcticed many times and could do!> I am still adjusting to being in such a big city, it is so different than anything i am used to but its all good, Each day I can feel my Heavenly Father leading me and helping me to understand just a little bit more than i did yesterday; Especially during the lessons, that is where i can see his help the most,
So you thought my spelling was bad before you are in for a treat now the French Keyboard is just a little bit different than the a,erican one for example the a and the q button are switched and I cant find the period so this ,ight be one long run on sentence, other than in french the comma is our period,
They took all of us to the Bus station and dropped us off, If you look at a map you will see toulouse is on one side of the country and Nice is clear on the other side, we were on the bus from about 11am until about 830 PM, I got to see so much of the country side and glim^ses of teh cities, Everything is so green and pretty, There were red poppies everywhere, So pretty! > my first day in Nice was not a typical day either the elders had arranged for us to help a member that lives out in monoco do some gardening, It was awesome, I have to tell you first that everywhere we go it is by the tram or the bus, to go to monoco we took the bus, there were 2 other members with us who dont speak french so that was fun to actually speak in english, as we traveled through monoco we were actually on part of the track for the Monte Carlo race, it was really cool to see that, I hope you dont mind you are getting a play by play but it is all so interesting so far i dont know what i can leave out: but anyway,,,That night we had 2 teaching appointments with a member named nelly, the only way I can explain nelly would be to have you picture Aunt Kathy as an active new member, When you picture that you have Nelly She is awesome we teach a lot with her, > French People speak so fast, most of the time i have no idea what they are saying it get frustrating but at the same time i try as hard as i can to listen and figure out what they are talking about: so far in our lessons i will bezar my testimony at the end and that is about it, but ca va, I have been really lucky to be here Soeur Mongas had been teaching a man named Marc and a Woman named Violette who were both baptized on Saturday, So my first week here I witnessed two of Heavenly Fathers children returning to him making covenants with him, That itself was really cool, I was so overwhellmed by the time we left I just started crying, I hadnt understood anything and was so frustrated, I was glad we were going home, Yesterday at church it was better; I pray everywhere we go that i will be able to understand something, and at churhc I did understand so,ethings, still not much, it was funny when the 2nd counselor in the bishopric announced that there were 2 new missionaries in the Area me and an elder Miller, Then he said we would like to have them come and tell a little us where they are from and share their testimony, That was actually fun, It was broken French but it was something that i have parcticed many times and could do!> I am still adjusting to being in such a big city, it is so different than anything i am used to but its all good, Each day I can feel my Heavenly Father leading me and helping me to understand just a little bit more than i did yesterday; Especially during the lessons, that is where i can see his help the most,
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Arrival in France
We received an email from President and Sister Carter today stating that Jenni had arrived safely in France. She has been assigned to Nice. Her p-day's are Monday so watch for updates on Mondays. I am sure when we hear from her we will have an address besides the mission home.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Flying Out!
Today Jenni flies to France. Her flight was scheduled to leave around 4:30 pm this afternoon and she is scheduled to arrive in Paris around 3:00 am (Utah time) where she will go through customs and then fly on to Toulouse. She called home this afternoon and we talked for almost an hour. She is ready to begin a new phase of her mission - she will be an awesome missionary. The next post on this site will be after she arrives in France.
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