First Lesson in French

Date: Fri, Sep 18, 2009

Famille,

One day this week one of the elders was trying to guess my name. He said I looked like my name should be Erin. I laughed.

On Tuesday, Elder Holland came and spoke. Luckily I have this huge love of being in choirs and so I had a guaranteed seat in the gym that filled because everyone thought the prophet was coming. He talked about not wasting a minute and not wanting an easy mission. He said "missions are never easy because salvation is not a cheap experience." It was just an awesome experience, we were all ready to leave for France that minute! Then we remembered that we didn't know French yet...so we're ok with staying.

My teaching this week...the best experience was when our teacher had every companionship teach another companionship as each other. Usually we role play and pretend we are non-members but we were teaching each other as ourselves. Frere [brother] Quinn had us teach him and so we prayed and thought of his needs and scriptures and personal experiences. After we taught him he told us that we had addressed all the concerns he had been having this last couple weeks and that on the way to work today he had a prompting that we should teach him!

That was a huge testimony to Soeur Gifford and I that we are sort of doing this right and that we are instruments in the Lord's hands. Sadly, Paul’s lesson did not go so well...we kinda just wanted to get through the material and didn't pay attention to his needs.

However, we have a great lesson planned for him, plus planning to pay more attention to his needs. FIRST LESSON IN FRENCH YESTERDAY! I gave into the pressure and just decided to just jump in. pretty much all I said was "Dieu vous aime", God loves you. At one point I was looking at the wall looking for something in French to say and the guy we were teaching looked at the wall to see what I was looking at, I said "le mur et...beau et blanches" "the wall...is beautiful and white." he laughed at me. Through the lesson I could understand what he was saying and answered him by finding a scripture in my English scriptures and opening my French ones. We left him with the commitment to read 3 Nephi 13 and to start praying since he is Buddhist.

This week Soeur Flood and Soeur Powers left :( even more sad is that Soeur Powers French visa [they are going to Belgium and part of France is in their mission] didn't come through so she is chilling in New Jersey. Definitely miss them, but am grateful for them. They helped out a lot with learning how to function as a companionship.

I am proud to announce that my weight has stayed THE SAME! On Monday and Wednesday I run 2 miles and do some lifting. On Tuesday I run 2 miles and do 100 sit up. Thursday is beach volleyball, which I rocked yesterday. Friday is p-day so no scheduled gym time, but we are going to start going to sister-only gym time in the morning because they are having kickboxing class! That’s right, there is sister-only gym time every morning from 6-630. There is also a class called "enhancement" where they teach you how to enhance yourself.. Who even knows. I don't get desserts, only the ice cream on Wednesdays and Sundays, but now not even Wednesday.

I got an answer to my "why no band shirts" question. The other day at gym there was an elder wearing a killers shirt. I had that song and other ones stuck in my head the WHOLE time! Band shirts bring those types of songs in my head instead a souvient-toi [that's like, the best French hymn. youtube that.]

,I have heard about the BYU game. It was referenced TWICE in mission conference last Sunday! Ridiculous! There has been a HUGE emphasis on the articles of faith here, have your young men start memorizing them. I memorized the first one en Francais! I REALLY HOPE I CAN SKYPE AT CHRISTMAS!

Well fam, I love you all. Alma 26 is the bomb.com
je te aime
soeur camille pobst