July 20, 2009

I am getting more confidence in myself to just open my mouth and talk with people. Talking to people is the only way to find new amis. We have a lot of amis that are on vacation right now so it is hard to fix appointments. That is one thing ab out the French they take their vacation seriously. Everyone takes almost a whole month to go on vacation. and most people go this time of year.We had a really cool experience this last week. Rossni one of our amis has been telling us for almost 2 months that she know the next step is baptism and that she is wants to be baptized but she just isnt ready yet. She hasn't come to church for the last month. I was really beginning to think that we wouldnt be teaching her anymore, I kept praying and hoping that we would atleast be able to fix a rendez vous with her. Finally she called us and said we could see her Thursday. I was so excited we planned to talk about baptism again and propose a baptism date with a plan to help her prepare for that date. Before we could really start she told us that since the last time she came to church she has really felt a difference in her life like something was missing. She recogniwed that it was the spirit. She wants to be baptized but she doesnt want to cause tension in her family. They say it is ok but she wants a little more confirmation on their part. It was a really neat experience to talk to her and be guided by the spirit to promise that if she prepares to be baptized and works for it that Heavenmy Father will bless her family and help them as well. She is going to be baptized on the 15 of August! She is amazing! She also told us that she finished reading the BOM this last week. Her testimony is strong. I cant help but think of all the good she will do in the church and in her life. Another cool experience yesterday we had no rendez-vous after church which meant pass backs and contacting all day. There was one man that said to call him and he might be able to see us yesterdayso we called him We were in luck he was free. It ended up being a really good rendez-vous. He doesnt have a religion but he has a very strong testimony of Christ. The rest of teh afternoon we were really guided in the places we went I dont have enough time to write all of the miracles that happened. Just one other was an inactive sister. The Bishop has asked us to teach her and help her come back tok church. She was baptized 30 years ago but never gained a testimony of JosephSmith or the BOM. I was thinking about it that is exactly why she is inactive without a testimony of those 2 thing really there is no difference in our church and anyother church. She has agreed to see us again and hopefully we can help her gain our find her testimony of the BOM and Joseph Smith. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here serving; No it is not the easiest thing i have ever done in my life but at the end of the day i think of how manytimes the Lord directed me or helped me to talk to someone, then I realize that those moments of being tired or rejected were worth it. the reward in the end was so much greater!

More Pictures from Nice

Jenni with her huge calzone at the Bishops restaurant
Jenni with Nice in the background!
She looks happy!

July 13, 2009

I have to say that this week was a week of miracles and jsut really good lessons. On Saturday we had a lesson with a new amis; He had been contacted by the other sisters in January and agreed to meet with us. His name is VIn and speaks English. I was excited to teach a lesson in English. During the lesson the spirit was so strong. It was a lesso unlike any other i've ever had. He really has no religious background. It was very humbling to teach him how to pray then teach the Restoration. Not going to lie i went into the lesson a little big headed thinking that it will be easy to teach in English. Let me tell you it wasnt. yes i did have the vocabulary but when I teach my mind thinks French, it was very humbling. The Spirit really is the teacher in all lessons. I think I have said this before but I dont know for sure but this ward loves to eat together. since most of them live a little ways from the church they bring the stuff they need to prepare a dish for a picnic. Normally they eat together after a baptism, fast and testimony meeting or if they have an activity during the week. but yesterday there was a group of them that decided to have a picnic just because and invited us to stay. I had a really good time just alking witht he members and helping prepare the food. Until Friday I hadn't tried anything that i absolutely didn't like. Friday we ate with some members. Soeur Aslin had worked with us earlier in the week and she said she would make some african food for Soeur Bitanga. She made this chicken (that was really good), and this stuff called foofoo. It was so grose. I dont even know how to explain it. if was goopy and kind of like bread dough. litterally it made me gag. i tried my hardest to pretend that I like it. but Soeur Aslin knows me well enough and could tll i didnt like it. I hope that i never have to eat that again. One last miracle for the week yesterday we were in a parking lot waiting to meet someone when we saw Anastacio. He hadnt come to chruch and he hadnt answered when we called after. come to find out he had locked himself out of his house and didnt have his phone. But we were talking with him and following up on his reading in the BOM and his prayers; he said that He finally received his Answer!!!! He knows it is true. It was a really neat experience.This work is amazing. It is really the work of GOd on the Earth. There is no place i would rather be. It is not easy but every minute is worth it.

July 7, 2009

This week was really good. It was a week of reevaluating and setting goals. First Last Tuesday we had district meeting. Our new district president Elder Mayo asked us to bring pictures of the people we love the most. He had us put all of them up front for everyone to see then proceeded to talk about how when we teach we should teach each person like they were one of those people int he pictures. Because really we are all brothers and sisters. Just because we don't speak the same language or we come from different places doesn't change the truth of us all being brothers and sisters. That hit me pretty hard. I thought about it all week and have been trying to look at people in a different way. What if it was my family that didnt have the gospel? I sincerely have been trying to apply that. When you have love for a person you are teaching you want so much for that person to understand, you want them to have the happiness you have. STreet contacting has not been something that i have really loved. But After that lesson I have looked at it with different eyes. It is still not something that is easy for me but I am trying. THen yesterday at Zone Conference Soeur Carter said to us "it is better to try to talk to someone and have them reject you than to not have tried at all and ignore the spirit." I thought that was pretty cool. I loved all of zone conference. It is like a half time pep talk from the coach. AFter you leave you feel like you can take over the world, that nothing is going to stop you. On the train coming back to Nice last night soeur Bitanga and I were with Elder Mayo and Elder Miller We talked a lot about random things but it was like a wall that was between Soeur Bitanga and I came down. really for the past two weeks we haven't talked all that much. But when we got home thing were different we were talking and things were just different. I don't know how to explain it. It was really cool. I am excited for this next week to keep working. President Carter yesterday talked about attitudes and motivation. They go hand in hand. Attitude is really all a matter of choice. If you want to have a good day you have to decide that you are going to have a good day. then when things go wrong or things are hard during the day you have already made the choice that it was going to be a good day and thos things aren't going to stop you. Life really is 10% what happens and 90% how we react. Soeur Carter had talked to us to about how we can creat things in our life. How we can create joy specifically. It is the same principle that if you want something you have create it you cant wish for it to come to you.

June 29, 2009

I have to say that changing companions is not something that is easy. it has been an interesting week for me. I am very glad to still be in Nice. i love it here and I love our amis and the ward here. My new comanion is French, this is her first time being a senior companion. She has been out for about 6 months, so neither of us really know the role of senior compaion. I'm glad its her not me. I think Ihave spoken more French this week than I did the whole time with Soeur Mongas. THere have been many times I've opened my mouth not knowing exactly what to say or how to say it but it came out in a way that was understood. Heavenly Father has really helped me this week. On wednesday we had our meeting with the ward missionaries since soeur Bitanga is new and doesn't know our amis I had to talk about each of our amis. I prayed that I could atleast get my point across. I struggled and went slow but when I had finally finished with the last amis Frere Feuga said that I made sense and that I'm really improving. That compliment made my whole day. We did a lot of walking this week. I realized how much I didn't know about the city. but it is all good. We have been trying to pass by inactive members houses this week we have a ward list that is 18 pages long and i would dare say that I haven't even met half of the people on the list. SO in effort to help strengthen the ward we are trying to find the lost sheep. I am grateful we walk a lot because really 30 minutes really isn't much for exercise. Incase you want to knoz a typical day goes as follows: 6:30 wake up pray exercise. 7 get ready for the day8 is personal study. I love personal study. I have finally found what works best for me and how I can get the most out of that hour. That hour of study can make or break my whole day. 9 Is companion study at first I didn't like comp study but really it is the best hour to prepare to our lessons and contacting, and to talk about our amis. 10 Is an hour for French Study. honestly that hour is hard for me by the time i sit for that long I have no desire left to study. but it really is a good time to look up new words and how to conjugate verbs and just practice speaking and reading. From 11 until 9 is prosyleting time. each day is different. some days we have rendez vous all day long and other days we are contacting and passing by peoples houses all day long. needless to say there is always something to do. then at 9 we return and plan for the next day eat and go to bed. There you have it in a nutshell. We are very lucky to have a lot of support from the ward they love to help and love to wteach with us!One miracle for the week. Anastacio has been progressing and doing most everything we commit him to do. But he hasn't been to church for a couple of weeks he kept saying he would come but then Sunday morning would come and he wouldn't be there. well this sunday we were about to start Relief Society I walked out in to the hall and guess who was there? Anastacio§ i was so excited! It was so cool! I do get to plaly the piano a little bit. Soeur mongas played most of the time last transfer but now I get to. We have 2 young men in the Ward that play very well that is what they study at school and lets just say that I dream of playing as well as they do. I hope you have a great week! I love you! THanks for your love and support.Until next time!Soeur Jenni Lake

Pictures from France

Baptism of Violette & Marc

Jenni's very first Saturday in Nice and first Baptism

Sisters L-R - Soeur Lake (Jen), Soeur Mongas (her companion) & Violette

Men L-R - Elder Swanson, Frere Meunier, Frere Pietri, Marc, Elder Miller, Elder Mayo & Elder Suppan

This is the view from Jen's apartment window in Nice
This is our French Baker making a cake from scratch

We received these pictures this last week. Tonight I received a call from a Sister Steenblik from the Salt Lake area, she and her husband have just returned from France from a vacation. Brother Steenblik served in Toulouse France many years ago and they had finally made a trip there. They attended church in the ward where Jenni is serving and they called to report that she is happy and healthy and doing well.

June 22, 2009

As for the weather you could send some of that rain here I would love it! It is getting very hot! I don't know exact temperature but i do know that in our apartment when i went to bed last night my alarm clock said it was 81. For the most part it is just hot right now. The humidity is something else. i feel like i have this oily nastyness all the time on my skin. At night it does cool off a little. And during the day it is always a belssing when the wind of the sea is blowing. I am my mothers child i hate it when my feet are hot Soeur Mongas just laughs when the first thing I do when we come in is take off my shoes. The heat doesn't stop the work. We continue and work and work some more.
I have to tell I had the coolest experince this last week. In the time that i have been here I have witnessed 6 baptism's, 2 children and 4 converts. By far the baptism on Saturday was the best one. His name is John. He met Angilque ( a memeber in our ward) sometime ago. and Through Angie's example started taking the discussion. I haven't had the chance to participate in teaching him but we have had dinner with them a few times. John has been a great help for me and ever so patience to talk wih me. So the baptism the spirit was so strong during the program, then as I saw him walk into the font and Elder Mayo baptize him the spirit was so strong again. It is the nbest feeling to know the conversion story of someone and watch as they make their first covenants with our Heavenly Father. Then while we were waiting for them to get dressed. We sang "Je suis enfants de Dieu" (I am a child of God) I was thinking about the words to the song. Literally we are all children of God. And that he will lead and guide me if I let him. He walks beside each of us. What a great knowledge that is. I am so grateful that he sent me to you, my family. And that we are an eternal family.