tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80681733337652733632024-02-20T08:25:44.965-08:00Elder Bryant S. WilsonTeresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-28287680244322274672015-03-05T07:40:00.002-08:002015-03-05T07:45:22.343-08:00Sonic Mole RemoverMarch 2, 2015<br />
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Hello Family!!
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This week was really great! Also, we had quite the experience.</div>
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So, Tuesday night, while porting about, we received a call from a guy named
Charles, telling us that he was an old ami of the missionaries and that he found
our number "par hazard" (randomly) and was wondering if maybe we'd be able to
see him sometime. We didn't immediately fix a rendez-vous with him, but we told
him we'd check our planning and see if we could see him this week. We finished
the night then made our way home and looked in the Area Book to try and find the
teaching record of a Charles, since neither Elder Davis nor I could recall
having read a teaching record of a Charles.</div>
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Well, we didn't find one. So we thought, ah, we'll call him tomorrow and
see if we can see him. So we did. And we talked with him. Charles said that he
has met with the missionaries since 95, but hasn't gotten baptised yet. He said
it's one of "ses projets de la vie" (one of his life time plans) to be baptised
a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So we let him know
that we are here to help him, it'll be hard and it'll take time, but as he keeps
the engagements we give him, he will be prepared. We felt inspired to invited
him to be baptised the 11th of Avril. He didn't accept the invitation because he
said he wasn't sure if he'd be ready, we explained that the date can change, but
we promised him that if he keeps these engagements he will be ready for the
11th.</div>
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So rendez-vous finished, all was well, we were both feeling pretty
skeptical though, and it was just to be so because it's not often that eternal
amis come out of the blue as such and then tell you they want to get baptised.
As we were leaving we asked Charles what his last name was so we'd be able to
sonnor (ring his little ringing thing in his appartement) for the next time. He
just replied with a little laugh like "a-ha". Well, we thought that was super
weird that he didn't give us his last name. So on the way out, we checked the
mail boxes to try and find a "Charles" somewhere. Didn't find one on any of the
boxes, although we did make an interesting find. "Raffi". That is the last name
of an Eternal Ami we have in the area book who has been noted to waste
missionaries time...we immediately realized Charles has lied about his name to
us. We deducted it was because he thought if he told the missionaries his real
name, it would be a pretty low possibility of them coming over to help him out
with "ses projets".</div>
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Saturday, we saw him again and told him in a loving manner that we know who
he is and asked why he didn't tell us his real name. He answered just how we had
expected, so we're giving him a chance because he seems sincere and we believe
in repentance. Anyways, we asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon, he said
he has not. But he shared with us this book that has been written about the
Mormons (it's not anti-mormon, it was written by two french guys that love the
US) that helps him understand the doctrine better and understand who mormons are
better. We told him, if he truly wants to progress, to give his reading
priorities to The Book of Mormon. We engaged him to read the first three
chapters in the Book of Mormon and told him we'll call him to set up another
RDV. We let him know that if he does not keep his engagements he will not
progress and that we won't be able to help him, that this démarche is up to him,
we're here to help him with it, but if he doesn't keep his part, there's not
much we can do.</div>
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This all probably comes off a little harsh, but the spirit was present. It
was really cool. The spirit filled us with the words we needed to say to help
him understand that he needs to commit himself.</div>
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So, obviously that was a big part of the week. ha :)</div>
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But other things that happened were Zone Conference on Friday!! Zone
Conference was super great! We also had interviews, which was splendid! And
then, we had a surprise. We got to watch Meet the Mormons...or atleast, we were
going to get to watch it...but the Assistants left it in Angers at their last
Zone Conference...so instead we watched Ephraim's Rescue...I've already seen
Ephraim's Rescue quite a bit during the mission, it's one of the few approved
films we can watch...so all the missionaries that have seen it quoted along with
it. It was pretty funny.</div>
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Sunday we had Stake Conference in Paris. Guess who else was there? Elder
Kearon. This was my third Conference (whether that is a stake or a missionary
conference) with him. He gave a super great talk. Something that really touched
me was his story about Moles. He talked about how he had a beautiful lawn, then
one day, he had a hole from a mole. The next day, he had more holes, so he
decided to take care of it. So we went to the store and asked what he can use to
get rid of moles. The manager came back with a nice little machine called the
"Sonic Mole Remover" which is a little thing you stick in the ground and it
sends out sonic waves that repelles moles. So he tried it out. Well, the mole
didn't stop digging and didn't go away. So he decided to take a shovel and wait
by one of the holes. As he saw the dirt move, he started shoveling super hard
and fast and got the mole out of the earth. He then released it on his neighbors
lawn (just kidding...that was the joke he said though...ha). He actually
released it on the road and it went away and never came back.</div>
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He said sometimes, in the Gospel, we have things like the Sonic Mole
Remover that seem really cool complicated, but don't necessarily work. Most
times, we need to take a shovel and dig. It may sound simple, but that's what
will get the job done. But what do the shovel and digging represent? Daily
Prayer, Scripture Study, Family Home Evening. He invited us all to listen and do
what the Stake President has advised for us. Do these simple things.</div>
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It was a great conference and a great way to end the week.</div>
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I feel so blessed to be a missionary in the France Paris Mission. I love it
here.</div>
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And I love you all. :) Have a great week!</div>
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-Elder B. Stanton Wilson<br />
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Rillettes du Mans. . . It's one of the
things Le Mans is known for. Basically what it is is liquified meat. They take
Pork, throw it in a blender, then add some goose fat to it and put it in
these containers. It sounds super gross, and looks gross, too, but it tastes
SUPER great! :)</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Elder Davis and I...the day I got Pink Eye. ha :) (don't worry, I'm better now.)</span></div>
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-24597367417052594162015-03-05T07:38:00.002-08:002015-03-05T07:38:36.200-08:00Ward Council & Everyday Miracles<div dir="ltr">
February 23, 2015</div>
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Hello Family!
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This week went well, we had some pretty cool miracles happen! :)</div>
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First off, Tuesday, we felt impressed to pass by a less active that we had
tried many, many times and had basically given up because he never answered. But
we went for one last time. And he was there! He let us in and we shared a
scripture with him. We told him that we loved him and that we missed him at
church and that we'd love him to come back. He said he'd come back if someone
picks him up because taking public transportation is "too far" for him. We left
knowing what that meant. But finally, we were able to meet him and invite him to
do something. If he isn't going to do anything, there isn't anything more we can
do than invite.</div>
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Wednesday, we had to go to the Gare to search for train tickets for the
upcoming zone conference (this upcoming Friday) and Stake Conference (this
Sunday). We decided to do so after District Meeting. While we were there, one of
my old amis from Cergy walked into the Gare. We found out that he'll be living
in Le Mans for an internship for the next six months. We're hoping to being to
meet with him to teach him more about the Gospel.</div>
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Thursday we headed down to La Flèche to see our less active buddy livin'
out there. We tried confirming beforehand but Marvine didn't answer. So we went
anyways with faith that we would see him. When we arrived we made our way to his
apartment and called him. Again, he didn't answer. We noticed the door was open,
so we let ourselves in and climbed the stairs to his apartment and knocked. He
was home! And he remembered we were coming, too. We watched the Restoration DVD
with him and then talked about it. Let's just say, he's got a lot to learn, but
we're going to help him with that. Also, good news, he's working on getting his
drivers permit so he can drive to church! We have no idea how he's going to get
a car without a job, but judging by his huge TV and his bumpin' sound system and
giant tiger plushie, he'll get a car somehow...ha</div>
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After getting back in Le Mans, we set out contacting people in the street.
We ended up sharing the Book of Mormon with a younger woman in the street and
praying with her...in fact, she even said the prayer. It was pretty cool. And at
night we went out porting and prayed with a muslim lady at her window. It was a
pretty cool experience.</div>
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Friday, we went and visited a member that has recently been struggling with
activity in the Church. He is one of the ward missionaries as well. We read
through Doctrine and Covenants 4 with him and talked about it. After the
spiritual thought, we asked if there is anything we can do to help him and he
said yes. Come every week and give me spiritual thoughts like this. So we'll be
seeing him again this week.</div>
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Then Saturday we had Ward Counsel. Normally, in Ward Counsel, the
missionaries are expected to be there, but when we talk about what we need done,
the Ward Counsel makes excuses as to why it's not important and they don't
really take the missionaries seriously. Well, for the first time in my mission,
this was not the case. We had things to get done that day so we asked if we
could go first and leave promptly after. So the Sisters asked the questions and
got the things done that they needed, as well did we. And then we discussed a
baptismal goal for the year. As we started discussing this, one member of the
ward counsel stated "let's not just set an empty number like we do every year.
Let's work with the faces that we have. The amis that the missionaries find and
are bringing are not staying, but we have other amis that have been in contact
with the church that the ward knows already." They then proceeded to list 8
names of people that were in contact with the church that aren't members and we
set a goal based around the people that we have already. Finally, the members
are starting to realize that the amis found by members are more likely to join
than those found by the missionaries. It was the most productive Ward Counsel I
have attended.</div>
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Later, we had an Après-Midi Familial (Family Home Afternoon) with the Young
Adults. Elder Davis and I planned it out and organized everything so that we
could get the Young Adults unified together and give them an activity to invite
their non-member friends to. We'll be doing it once a month at the least. It was
a success, even though only 4 of the 7 Young Adults came. We watched a Mormon
Message (<a href="https://www.lds.org/pages/flecks-of-gold?lang=eng" title="blocked::https://www.lds.org/pages/flecks-of-gold?lang=eng">https://www.lds.org/pages/flecks-of-gold?lang=eng</a>)
and talked about the "Flecks of Gold" in the Gospel. After wards, we ate cookies
that the Sisters made and Elder Davis taught them how to play Bang! (since Bang!
is a western style game and Flecks of Gold is a western style Mormon
Message).</div>
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Overall, it was a super great week! :)</div>
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Miracles happen every day. It's up to us to look for and recognize them. As
we do so, we start to see more and more and realize just how much the Lord plays
a role in our lives.</div>
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I love you all!</div>
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-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
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Thanks for taking care of all my college stuff, mom and dad! I love you! :)
I'll get you that video later today.</div>
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-58537924037737438912015-03-05T07:36:00.001-08:002015-03-05T07:36:37.146-08:00Sick and Pink EyeFebruary 16, 2015<br />
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Hello Family!
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I'm glad you all had a great Valentine's Day! :)</div>
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This week was a pretty great week but sadly, a very very sick week.</div>
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I'll start out with the bad news. </div>
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Thursday I woke up with a head ache...it still hasn't gone away. Friday, I
woke up and felt super sore all over. And I woke up with stuffed sinuses and a
swollen tonsils and a nice sore throat. Saturday, I didn't feel sore anymore but
I felt super super tired with a sore throat that had worsened and the tonsils
and the sinuses. Sunday woke up feeling a little better, except my left eye was
pretty red. Then by the end of the day, my right eye was itching like no other
and was oozing puss-like liquid. In short, I think I have pink eye right now. :D
but I'll call the nurse today to get that confirmed. So, needless to say,
because I've been pretty sick, we haven't got much work done this
week.</div>
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BUT things still did happen before AND during my sickness!!</div>
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Before the sickness, on Wednesday, Elder Davis and I set off to go finding.
We ended up praying with two people in the street, one of whom we gave a Plan of
Salvation brochure. When we first contacted her, she said she didn't believe in
God, but by the end of the contact, she admitted she did, but that she had had a
hard life and that it was getting harder for her to believe. We prayed with her
and left her with the brochure.</div>
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We then made our way to the Ajako's. They invited us in to tell us they
couldn't meet with us because their little daughter has chicken pox...so we said
a prayer with them, blessing their home so that they can heal of the sickness.
I'm not sure it was chicken pox though...I think it was probably another
sickness though...</div>
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Thursday night we went over to a family's house. They're Adventist. They
made it clear they didn't want to be taught and that they weren't willing to
change...so it ended up being a rather social meeting with them. They were super
nice though.</div>
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Saturday we met an ami. We ound out that he is under house arrest until October. Which is good
and bad for us. It's good because now, there is no way he can miss a rendez-vous
with us. The bad news though is that on the weekends, he can only leave his
appartement from 14h00-17h00 which means he won't be coming to church until
after October. But he seems to have a clear desire to change his life and to
stop messing up. So we will help him as much as we can.</div>
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Sunday, after church a member in the ward took us to his house to eat with
him and his family. The Rossi's are such a great family! Frère Rossi made this
super delicious tofu stuff. It was a rice dish. The sauce had in it his homemade
tofu, dried banana's, 8 different spices (cinnamon, cumin, curry, black pepper,
ground cloves, ginger, and two others that I can't remember), and almonds. It
was super delicious. </div>
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And that was about how the week went. :) I'm hoping this week to heal to be
able to get back to working super hard.</div>
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I love you all! :)</div>
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-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-74566523865799234432015-03-05T07:34:00.001-08:002015-03-05T07:34:31.079-08:00Diligence and Patience are the KeysFebruary 9, 2015<br />
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Hello Family!
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This week was...really long and rather difficult. But it was so worth it in
the end.</div>
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So it was transfer week, and it tends to seem a little long when there
isn't a change in companions. Thus was the case with this week, except it was
really tough. But it was all worth it.</div>
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Now what was so hard about this week? Finding. Almost every day. It wears
on you. Especially when you meet really rude people, which it appears this week,
we met some of the rudest people that we have yet on our missions. I don't think
I've ever taken so many insults and met so many people that wanted to offend us.
But we pushed through.</div>
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Wednesday, we ended up teaching 3 people in the street, all of whom didn't
want to meet again with us. We also passed by the Ajako's for the first time in
a while and tried teaching as simply as possible, but they didn't understand at
all. It was a discouraging day. We taught people, but nobody was progressing. We
haven't had a progressing ami for 6 weeks. But we pushed on.</div>
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Finally, Saturday came along. We had 3 rendez-vous scheduled. One with a
Congolais named Mr. Pino, another with a french guy named Fabrice and another
one with a Guadaloupian named Kevin.</div>
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We've been trying to see Mr Pino for a while, but because of family
problems, it's taken some time. It was well worth the wait. He is a golden ami.
We taught him the Rétablissement. He accepted everything super well. We invited
him to baptism, he thought about it, then accepted. The spirit was so strong.
We'll be seeing him next saturday as well.</div>
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Then we hopped on a bus and made our way to Fabrice's house. He referred
himself through the church website. He's actually a non practicing muslim. He
converted to Islam a couple years ago. He wanted to know about Mormon's after
seeing a "reportage" about the "Mormons". It was a documentary about the
polygamists, so we were able to teach him about REAL mormons. We'll be coming
back next saturday to teach more. He also is willing to come to the Chapelle and
see how it is chez-nous.</div>
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Then we got back on the bus and went over to Kevin's house. We were
teaching him the Rétab, when he started expressing concerns of his illiteracy.
He is 25 and he is legally illiterate, but he is dying to learn how to read.
He's been paying the JW's 25 bucks a week for reading lessons, which is
basically just them teaching him how to read by indoctrinating him with false
doctrine. (It's no wonder we can't teach English classes here with people doing
that...) Elder Davis and I decided, that if we can, to try and help him. We'll
be seeing him again next Saturday as well.</div>
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We were also invited to a Priesthood activity...BOWLING! We tried really
hard finding an ami that would be available, but couldn't find anyone. But we
went anyways, and one of the members had brought a non member to the activity!
So we talked with him during the bowling activity. It was really cool!</div>
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And so the week ended on a super great note. Diligence and Patience are key
in the Lord's work. As we are patient and we work diligently, the Lord will
bless us.</div>
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I love you all! :)</div>
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-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
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To address your questions, I have not yet bought new shoes, still looking.
I did receive the letters! :) It was a nice surprise! </div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-31072439372403496042015-03-05T07:32:00.002-08:002015-03-05T07:32:41.855-08:00Teaching with Members<div dir="ltr">
February 2, 2015</div>
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Bonjour la Famille!
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This week was kind of a really tiring week. It was the last week of the
long, 8 week transfer!! It was also a finding week.</div>
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So, transfer news: Elder Wilson, you have been called.......*drum roll,
please* to stay in Le Mans with Elder Davis for another 6 weeks!! Yay!! Yoopie!
(pronounced you-pee. It's the French way of saying yipee! Or however that is
spelled.)</div>
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We started the week off super great, Monday night with our ami René (earlier
called Kouassi, until we found out his prénom). We taught René and his Uncle and
his girlfriend this past Monday with Frère Demmin. Before the rdv, Frère Demmin
told us that he had told the missionaries for years that he'd love to come
teaching with them, but the missionaries never asked him, and they are CRAZY not
to have done so. Frère Demmin is a SUPER member to teach with. We went over the
Rétablissement and Joseph Smith's story again (since it'd been about a month
since we'd seen René). The Spirit was super strong. Sadly, René works in Paris,
so we wasn't able to come to church this week, but he's working on moving his
store out here in Le Mans.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Tuesday, we had our last district meeting together...of the transfer that
is. Our district is staying exactly the same! The subject was on teaching
simply. It was a pretty great formation. I'll send you pictures of our end of
the transfer picture together.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The rest of the week we spent searching for new people. We couldn't seem to
get a hold of our amis we already had, or if we did, they couldn't meet with us.
Three of our amis were in Paris this whole week...ha.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We did get invited over Sunday night to the household of the 1st counselor in the Stake presidency, Frère Hitoto. They had their Soirée Familiale (Family
home evening) and gave us the lesson. Elder Davis had a great object lesson idea
with a clémentine. He had all the kids close their eyes and close their ears.
One at a time, he'd tap on their shoulder and they could take their hands off
their ears. Then we'd tell them to either listen, smell, or touch the
clémentine. After that, we hid the clémentine and asked them what it was. They
had a hard time deciding what it was, so we showed them what the object was. We
then compared that to the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost makes things more clear to
us and help us see clearly what is true and right. We shared Moroni 10:5 with
them and had the kids talk about what it means to them. After that, the kids
asked us questions about being missionaries. I didn't realize how much the kids
in France really look up to missionaries. It was super cool to talk with them.
We then ate les crêpes with the family. It was super good!! :) As we ate, we
talked about missionaries experiences we have had and gave them some ideas of
ways they can invite their neighbors. It was super spiritual and super
great!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Although the week was tough, the beginning and the end made the whole week
worth it. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm really sorry that this week is super short...I really don't have more
to add about the week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As far as shoes, I haven't yet bought the shoes, I'm looking for them
though, and I'll explain why I haven't bought them yet.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, the season of "Les Soldes"...is comparable to a gentleman's Black
Friday. Many, many stores discount their products to get rid of the old
"collection" and make room for the new "collection" of clothing/stuff. The first
week, they discount their old collection up to 30 percent off, this is called le
Premier Démarque. The 2nd or 3rd week, they discount their stuff up to 50
percent off. This is le Deuxième Démarque. Then the 4th through the 6th week,
whatever is left is normally discounted up to 70 percent off. This is le Dernier
Démarque. There is quite a bit of good stuff still left by le Dernier Démarque,
so I've been waiting until then to hopefully find some shoes around 50
euros.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now, you might be thinking, why on earth would a missionary go to something
that is compared to Black Friday? Reason: It's very gentlemen like. Since it
happens over 6 weeks, nobody goes crazy like in the States on Black Friday.
People here get excited, but the stores aren't jam packed with people to the
point they need the SWAT team to come. Nobody gets pushed or shoved. Everybody
just minds their own business, buys what they want, and leaves. It's pretty
cool. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well I hope you all have a great week! And Kaysen, about soccer, make sure
you go to EVERY open gym possible! Just a tip. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
P.s. The questions will be answered by next week. I've been thinking about
them, and I came up with quite a witty response to the candy bar question. I
think you'll like them, and I hope that SNOW likes them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
P.P.S. Here is a picture of the district. And a picture of the kids that we
got to eat with last night. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2AUx_8zQV-aa6O4Ope3AvKUw9yFXq3jc6nEEcMAZgr-8ZmAVpMbCjWvMzf0Iq0Pb8yTomZ4I0LjAwKp5GxcOcosb70hEHCXbdeQegVxrCVcBeDev30kf42AkD41Fao5YJHEN9zFQkdV97/s1600/2015+Feb+district.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2AUx_8zQV-aa6O4Ope3AvKUw9yFXq3jc6nEEcMAZgr-8ZmAVpMbCjWvMzf0Iq0Pb8yTomZ4I0LjAwKp5GxcOcosb70hEHCXbdeQegVxrCVcBeDev30kf42AkD41Fao5YJHEN9zFQkdV97/s1600/2015+Feb+district.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-44194598809503756722015-03-05T07:26:00.005-08:002015-03-05T07:26:50.903-08:00Object Lesson<div dir="ltr">
January 26, 2015</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Hello Family!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's good to hear that you're doing well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As for Elder Davis and I here in Le Mans, we are seeing success. I'm
starting to feel like the same things happen in all of my villes. I come into a
ville and immediately we lose contact with all our "golden" amis. Then we work
super super hard for the next 6-9 weeks searching for new amis, then little by
little we are blessed and we get create a teaching pool with amis that we are
able to see at least once a week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This past week, we started out with exchanges in Alençon! But with a
suprise! At district meeting, there weren't two elders that showed up from
Alençon, but three! Elder Madsen and Elder Connelly will be serving with Elder
Raveneau, a visa waiter called to serve in Canada, until Elder Raveneau gets his
visa.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexEYGBf3VaAlv8JmLaQfsTKrl7za-zJmkIb8H6Vd21NM80Ju75F0QozoHbBbM_-W3_JQ86BM78OoSw2WlbywmF-vFeGWvxTG6-dbXVq57_JTFuSdkJWQ949nQgIzQedgINlchLFZX-eMF/s1600/2015+Jan+object+lesson.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexEYGBf3VaAlv8JmLaQfsTKrl7za-zJmkIb8H6Vd21NM80Ju75F0QozoHbBbM_-W3_JQ86BM78OoSw2WlbywmF-vFeGWvxTG6-dbXVq57_JTFuSdkJWQ949nQgIzQedgINlchLFZX-eMF/s1600/2015+Jan+object+lesson.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a>District meeting was pretty cool, I was volunteered by my dear companion
for an object lesson during. For the object lesson, there were two plates of
chocolate pudding with whipped cream. We had to suck up the chocolate pudding to
find the "prize." I found mine super fast, then continued to suck up the
chocolate pudding (I mean, who doesn't like chocolate pudding?) while Elder
Oviatt (Zone Leader in Tour with Elder Smith!!!) sucked up all of his without
finding his prize. After he was done, District Leader Elder Madsen handed him
his prize. It was then compared to finding amis. When we go out finding, we all
have the same goal, to find an ami. Sometimes certain équipes find new amis
faster than others, but if we are diligent, we will win the prize.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then after the meeting and district meeting meal (Burrito Fête!) Elder
Davis and I went over to Alençon for our exchanges. I was with Elder Connelly
and Elder Raveneau. It was like a pretty normal day. We went out finding and
contacted people with the usual responses. Then Wednesday afternoon, we went and
passed by one of their amis. They have been trying for the past two or three
weeks to get in contact with him, but haven't been able to. We were blessed and
he was finally home. We shared a quick spritual thought with him and then set up
another RDV with him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Elder Davis and I then took our trains to get back to Le Mans. We had a
rendez-vous set up with a potential ami named Jackie. We called him when it came
time for our rdv, but he thought it was supposed to be at 19h30, not 18h30, so
we just contacted around for an hour until he would be able to be there. He came
and brought a friend with him, Pauline. We talked about our purpose as
missionaries and then shared Joseph Smith's story with them and gave them a
Rétab pamphlet. The spirit was so strong as we testified of the Rétab and the
1st vision. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His son Jesus
Christ. I know he was called as a prophet to restore the true church with the
proper authority, the Priesthood, on the earth. We invited them both to baptism,
Pauline accepted, sort of...and Jackie declined, mostly because, at least what
we deduced, he's not really sure what he believes in. But he is willing to learn
and he seems willing to act and keep reading engagements.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday, after Church, I had a really cool experience. As Elder Davis was
making short cakes, I decided to make some called to set up some rendez-vous
with amis. I saw a fiche (pronounced as "feesh". That's just France Paris
Mission lingo for an amis' teaching record.) of an ami who had been taught a
couple times, but there wasn't a reason as to why he was dropped. So I called
him. After a 30 minute conversation I decided to just end the dialogue,
politely, and we won't be seeing him. He said blantly that the message we share
doesn't make sense and that he'll never believe it, so I proceded to try to
understand what he didn't understand. And basically, he didn't understand
anything. There's a reason to this experience that I'm sharing with you though.
While I was talking with him, I had no troubles with French whatsoever. I didn't
stutter, I was confident, and I stayed calm the entire time, too. I know that
the Gift of Tongues is real. It was super cool to literally be the mouth piece.
The spirit was speaking, not I. I really hope sometime in the future this ami
decides to change his mind.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that was my week. It was a really great week. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Also, here is a photo of Elder Davis and I on our way to Strasbourg a
couple weeks ago for his legality.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLttFwwIBcYmrQN3zDfbQ2bPee6jXfDHVXzYlROl75oHiN659KYWl-QwK2Ds2iP8fyt60AzFKJyZgNjeD3fy_YqOQbVobF5s84Ta04NOJfwVWoF2GDVCieggOm-GIiBHP9Xe3vEoGItFNE/s1600/2015+Jan+bus+ride.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLttFwwIBcYmrQN3zDfbQ2bPee6jXfDHVXzYlROl75oHiN659KYWl-QwK2Ds2iP8fyt60AzFKJyZgNjeD3fy_YqOQbVobF5s84Ta04NOJfwVWoF2GDVCieggOm-GIiBHP9Xe3vEoGItFNE/s1600/2015+Jan+bus+ride.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
As for the application, yes, I'm working on it, and I plan on having it
done if not this week, the next week. But I do think of the questions in the
"spare" time that I have. I really want the scholarship.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all!! Have a great week! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-15155667278610780442015-03-05T07:22:00.001-08:002015-03-05T07:22:28.949-08:00A Trip to Strasbourg<div dir="ltr">
January 19, 2015</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Hello Family!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wow, sounds like the TJ's (JW's) are trying too hard! Ha I'm super
impressed by the way you handled that, Mom. Also, just for fun, there are
scriptures in the New Testament that talk about how Christ, after his death of
the cross, went and preached to the dead. 1 Peter 3:18-22. There is actually
tons of doctrine in these few verses.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This week went by pretty well. Remember those 10 rendez-vous we had set up?
We ended up only seeing three of the people. But they were super great lessons.
I feel like this week was a great success. We did our best and made the best out
of every situation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We finally saw Yannick again, after a couple months. He is doing super
well. He wanted to know our viewpoints on the whole Charlie Hebdo stuff that
happened, so we quickly referred to the plan of Salvation. Yannick loved the
Plan of Salvation. The spirit was so strong, we invited him to baptism. He
declined because he doesn't think he's good enough, and because apparently he's
been baptized "republican" (I didn't know we could be baptized into a politcal
party...ha) but we reassured him that he is good enough and talked about
authority. He said that he would pray about it. After the rendez-vous he kind of
asked about temples and wanted to learn more about them, so we said we'd teach
him more about temples next time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another ami we saw is called Flori. He is from the Congo. (Nzambe a pombo
la yo! Lingala for "God bless you.") We taught him for the first time. We gave
him a very brief outline of the missionary lessons and then taught him about
prayer. The spirit was so strong that we invited him to baptism. He accepted and
then asked a couple questions. He told us that he could come to church this week
because he'd be in Paris, but that he really wants to come. We set up another
time to see him and we'll be seeing him this week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Friday, I finally had the opportunity to go to the East side of France.
Elder Davis started his 2nd year legality there...but never received his Titre
de Séjour, so we got to go to Strasbourg to go pick up his Titre de Séjour.
While there, we were invited to go to a Soirée Familial with the Jeunes Adulte
(JA's, pronounce "gee-ah"s). Elder Nicholson (one of the Elders with whom I was
at the MTC) gave a super splendid spiritual thought on Jeffery R. Holland's
testimony of the Book of Mormon. After which we ate some food and played a
couple games. The game we played was called "Big-Booty". I'll have to teach you
how to play it. It's pretty fun. :) We also played BANG!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This past week was also very serendipitous. It seemed as if every where we
went, while we were in Le Mans, we saw either one of our amis, or a member of
the church. It was really cool. Sadly, each time either us or they had some
where specific to be.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday night we had the occasion to eat with a member and her less active
son. Soeur Lecourt invited us over to come and eat with her and try to help her
16 year old son. We talked with Tristan, her son, while she cooked and got to
know him a bit. We had prepared a spiritual thought on Prayer, but while talking
with him, we felt prompted to talk about the Atonement. We shared with them Alma
7:11-13. I encourage you, as a family, to read it together and to discuss what
it means to you individually. (Family Home Evening idea?) The spirit was really
strong as we testified about the Atonement of Christ and shared the reasons for
which we are on our missions.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love this Gospel. I know it is true and is the Gospel which Christ
preached while He was on the Earth. I know that through Him, we can be cleansed
of our sins. I love Him and I love our Heavenly Father.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
P.s. Could you send me Shelby's email? :) ha I'm glad to hear that Ky's
doing better, and also I hope that Skyler gets better soon.</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-13333024281291780102015-03-05T07:19:00.003-08:002015-03-05T07:19:28.173-08:00Tender Mercy<div dir="ltr">
January 5, 2015</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Hello Family!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This week passed pretty well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Monday we had a pretty cool Tender Mercy from the Lord. We went out porting
at night. We got on the tram and got off where we felt impressed to go porting.
We started knocking doors and got the usual responses "ça ne m’intéresse pas."
But after about an hour, we knocked on the door of an older lady, who was
speaking on the phone when she answered. We told her that we came to pray with
her to invite the Spirit of God in her home. She then told that with whom she
was speaking that "deux anges sont venues." (two angels have come). She then let
us come in and we explained prayer to her then prayed with her. It was pretty
cool. She gave us her phone number and we told her we would give her number to
the Sister missionaries. :) It was a nice little tender mercy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tuesday we had district meeting at then did exchanges. I was with the
District Leader, Elder Madsen. It was pretty legit and super fun. We had a great
exchange and did some great work. It was really fun to work with him. A cool
miracle that happened during exchanges, while we were porting, we ported into an
old guy that said he wasn't interested, but he didn't shut the door on us, so we
kept testifying. We were able to pray with him and leave him with a Plan du
Salut brochure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
New Year's Eve we went to a Patricia's house with the elders from Alençon.
Patricia is a single adult, and since there were four of us missionaries, we
were able to all go, which was super great. Patricia had her grandchildren over,
too which was super fun. We ate raclette and then we played music and sang
together. It was super great! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
New Year's day we received a call from the family with whom we were going
to spend the afternoon saying that they had all gotten sick, but that they were
trying to set something else up for us for that day. The bishop then called us
and invited us to go to his mother's house with him, his wife, and another
single adult in the ward to go and eat. It was super nice of them to have done
so. We ate escargot! It is super delicious! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday, we had the chance to go teach an old ami named Andersen. Elder
Davis and I felt impressed to share the plan of Salvation with him, since his
teaching record indicates that he's only been taught the rétablissement. The
lesson went by super well. The spirit took over and taught. The spirit was super
strong and we all felt super edified. We'll be seeing Andersen every weekend
now. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that was the week. I feel a little better, health-wise, although I
still have a cough. But I am feeling better! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all so much! I hope your week goes by super well!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-2426734990263259642015-03-05T07:18:00.001-08:002015-03-05T07:18:31.142-08:00Lift Up Your Voices<div dir="ltr">
December 22, 2014</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Hello Family!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This past week went by pretty well. Not too much happened, but some great
stuff did happen, nevertheless.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wednesday, we had a rendez-vous with an old French guy named André. I don't
know if I told you about him. He came to the ward Christmas party a while ago,
because he received an invitation mysteriously. He liked the party so much that
he decided to come to church the next day. Well, we fixed a rendez-vous with him
and had it this past Wednesday, with the DMP, Frère Tréhet. It went very well,
we talked about the Book of Mormon and engaged him to read it. After the rdv,
Frère Tréhet took us to his house to eat with him and his wife. It was super
delicious.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday was the Christmas conference. It was super great! Elder Texiera is
a super fun speaker. He also apparently loves to tell stories, as, he kept
saying "You want to hear a story?" or "Do you like stories? Hears another
story." He talked about many different things, notamment of how to let our amis
clearly understand why we are there teaching them. His version of "How to Begin
Teaching" really clarified things and showed me how to properly do establish
expectations. It was really cool.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday we met with Kouassi again, this time it was chez-lui with his
Uncle. We applied the new "How to Begin Teaching" and then taught the
Restoration and Book of Mormon. We invited them to read the Book of Mormon and
to pray about it, they accepted the invitation. We'll be seeing them hopefully
after this week. :) It was a pretty cool rdv. The spirit was super strong during
the 1st vision and while we bore our testimonies of the truthfulness of the Book
of Mormon.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday was pretty cool as well. Sunday night we set out to go porting. As
we started getting to where we had planned to port, we saw a guy on the other
side of the street, who was looking at us, so we said "Bonsoir". He stopped and
asked if we were English. We then told him that we're from the U.S. and gave him
a card that had the website for the "He is the Gift" video. He then told us that
he believes in Christ but that the way he lives doesn't reflect his beliefs. So
we testified of the power of the Atonement. We then asked if we could pray with
him, so we did. The spirit was so strong. After the prayer we asked if we could
share with him the unique message, he accepted and we set up a rendez-vous. It
was a pretty cool experience.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Spirit will guide us and fill our mouths with words. There is no need
to have fear of what to say.<span style="color: black;"> <i>"</i></span><i>Therefore,
verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts
that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;
For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye
shall say."</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
I love you all!! :) Have a great week! Joyeux Noël</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For skype, I'll probably be skyping sometime between 3 or 4 P.M. relative
to the time here in France.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As for the package and the letter, I got them both. But I didn't know that
was the Christmas package, so I already opened it...but I haven't eaten the
Reese's yet! :p sorry.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you!</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-28252977774555285532015-03-05T07:16:00.000-08:002015-03-05T07:16:08.146-08:00Christmas Party InvestigatorsDecember 15, 2014<br />
<br />
Hey Family!!
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So Tuesday was my last day with Steve Carrel (Elder Jenness), it was a
pretty good day. An older couple in the ward took us out to a Chinese buffet.
This was my third Chinese buffet in France!! I think I like them better in
France. I ate four plates of food plus two bowls of ice cream and one plate of
dessert. Oddly, I didn't feel terrible after eating all that food.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wednesday, we went in to Paris to drop off Elder Jenness and to receive my
new companion. My new comp is an Elder Davis from Seattle Washington (or
Warshington, if you're a true Washington-ite). He was fast tracked in the MTC,
so he's only been on his mission for 2 weeks longer than I have. He is in his
13th transfer, I'm in my 12th. Elder Davis is pretty cool, a little loud at
times, but basically, he and I have a lot in common. It's been rather odd. Also,
he sings decently, which is great! Actually, he and I and the youth in the ward
here will be singing une Cantique de Noël this Sunday!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday, we had three rendez-vous set up. We'll, we got frudged by all of
them. Crazy right? Well the last RDV that was scheduled was at 6 at night. After
waiting a bit, and not being able to get ahold of the potential ami (Kouassi),
we assumed he wasn't coming. We were supposed to meet right next to one of the
tram stops. Well, I heard someone singing and playing guitar, so I made my way
towards that. Elder Davis asked me "So, we've been frudged, what do you want to
do?" and I replied "We're going to wait until after this song, then I'm going to
ask if I can play a song." The person finished her song and I asked, and she let
me play a couple of songs. After which we talked to her, found out her name is
Sarah and she is 18, and that she speaks english pretty well, then invited her
to come to our ward's Christmas party on Saturday. She asked if she could have
the lyrics to the last song I played (the one that Jantzen wrote), I said I
would write them out and give them to her.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
About an hour and a half later, we received a call from our potential ami
named Kouassi telling us he would be at that tram stop in about 20 minutes, so
we went back there and met him and taught him and his friend, Colbert. We talked
to them a little about why we're here (How to Begin Teaching, PMG Ch. 10) and
ended up talking about prayer. At the end we set up a return rendez-vous with
them. That was pretty cool. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday, we spent the day at the church first with Ward Council, then with
helping the ward set up for the Christmas party. The Christmas party was a blast
and very successful and very effective au niveau de l'oeuvre missionnaire (in
terms of missionary work? Sorry, I don't remember how to say that in english).
The primary children did two different "sketch"'s (skits), the primary girls did
the parable of the 10 virgins, the boys did a sketch about the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's
when they gave up their weapons of war. After that, we all ate.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Before we started to serve ourselves, Sarah showed up with her little, 10
year old sister! Cool right? We made sure to introduce her to many of the young
women and other members. She asked me why I chose to join this church and I
started to talk about the importance of the Book of Mormon, then handed off the
conversation to a member sitting right next to her. He then explained what the
Book of Mormon was and we gave her one. Then about half an hour after she came,
an old man showed up. His name is André. He received an invitation from a member
and decided to come. He loved it so much that he decided to come to church the
next day!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I am very thankful for members who really are welcoming and loving to new
people that come.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Elder Davis and I used the Christmas party to talk to as many members as
possible to get to know them better. I feel a lot closer to the ward now and
feel like they trust us more now that they know us better. Also, I had no
troubles being myself! As a missionary, we tend to feel like "I'm a missionary,
I have to be a missionary and can't be who I really am." But that is not true.
It's something that district leaders have told me before that I've been working
on, and finally I felt at ease being me. I held to missionary standards, of
course, but I was me, instead of being shy, I was able to go out of my way and
talk like I was talking to my best friends. It's really great to see how the
spirit can really comfort you when you make good decisions and you work on your
weaknesses.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday, I was asked to confirm Albertina (the person that was baptized last
week) a member of the church. It was my first confirmation that I've ever done.
It went well, and I didn't mess up. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After church, I had the lyrics of Jantzen's song with me and a couple of
the young women in the ward asked me to play it and sing it, so I did, since it
is a rather uplifting song. When I looked up after playing it, all of the young
adults, young men and young women, and even the sister missionaries, and a
couple primary age kids were all standing around the piano. Then I asked if they
wanted to all sing a song together, so we started to sing christmas hymns
together. The lady in the ward that leads the music heard us singing and decided
that we were going to all do a music number the following sunday, as stated
earlier. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I find it truly amazing how much music can really bring in the spirit. I
love music, I love spreading the gospel, even more so by music. It's been my
dream to use music to help others during my mission. I'm very thankful for all
the opportunities that the Lord has accorded me during my mission thusfar to use
music.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all, have a great week! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
P.s. About the drum set, I was kinda bummed, but just as long as you don't
sell the bell kit. :) The cymbals are worth more than the drum kit is, by the
way. Ha, but I think selling the kit is a good idea. Maybe when I'm rich I'll
buy an electric kit myself. ;) Remember when I used to always talk about when
I'll be rich? haha</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-44150140479672809122015-03-05T07:12:00.001-08:002015-03-05T07:12:16.401-08:00It Will Be Given Us<div dir="ltr">
December 8, 2014</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Hello Family!!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What the what? Kaysen is HUGE!! Dang... :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So this past week was kinda a downer. We got frudged a lot, but we had a
super great ground breaking moment with one of our amis!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We met with them, finally after a while. We started teaching about the
nécessité of Authority, because they haven't really understood authority. After
a bit, Benito started to ask us some questions that went along with the Plan of
Salvation, so we started to teach them about the Plan of Salvation instead. And
then Benito opened up and told us a couple things to why he wasn't coming to
church! He had a really bad experience back in his own country going to a
catholic church, and since then, he has never gone to church. We told him that
he is always welcome chez-nous. The spirit was strong and Elder Jenness and I
both felt so much love for them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's amazing, if we listen to our amis, and they feel that we care and love
them, they will open up to us. And we won't have to worry about what we need to
teach nor what we need to say. It will be given us.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Yesterday, the Sister missionaries here in Le Mans had a baptism!! It was
an "eternal" ami, that finally decided to get baptized! It was a great
experience and her husband was very happy. He got up in fast Sunday and bore his
testimony about persevering until the end. It was very powerful.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I felt very blessed because the Sisters asked me to do a musical number for
the baptism! I got really excited and thought to myself "Yes!! I'll finally be
able to sing a solo!!" but the only person that can play piano wasn't able to be
there. So instead I was blessed with the opportunity to play the piano for
sacrament meeting and for the baptism. The musical number I did was my own
version, based off of Paul Cardall's version, of I Know That My Redeemer Lives.
The ward thanked me a lot for it afterwards and many said that it was perfect
and very powerful. I really am thankful for these opportunities the Lord gives
me to play music, même si ce n'est pas des occasions de chanter.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So we are at the time of transfers once again! Elder Jenness is getting
transferred to Luxembourg!!!!!! I'll be staying in Le Mans and receiving an
Elder Davis as my new companion.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well, I love you all and hope this week passes well!! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As for skyping time, I have no idea. We haven't been invited for Christmas
yet, and I'm not really sure what's going to happen. ha.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Also, I haven't yet received your package you sent...when did you send it?
ha :)</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-39716434221568530202014-12-01T07:25:00.002-08:002014-12-01T07:25:52.135-08:00A Finding Week<div dir="ltr">
Hello Family!!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Hey, this past week went well. Even despite the fruging that happened, buh
c'est la vie quoi.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This Tuesday we had Exchanges. I was with Elder Connelly this time, again
in Alençon. Elder Connelly and Elder Miller were put in charge of making pies
for our District Thanksgiving Meeting, so we made 3 pies and went out
contacting. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wednesday was a rather tough day, it was all finding. But there was one guy
that we stopped and talked with named Mr. Hocher. He was super cool and told us
that he has a huge respect for Americans because of what the American soldiers
did during World War II. He wasn't interested at all in learning about the
Gospel, but he was super nice. It's nice to talk to kind people every now and
again.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday was THANKSGIVING!! Our District did Thanksgiving together. Elder
Jenness and I were put in charge of the Turkey, but turkey is expensive so we
had chicken for our Thanksgiving. :) It turned out really well. It wasn't quite
like home, but everything was super great. After that, we all played a game
called Loups-Garous (pronounced loo gar roo, it means Werewolf) all together as
a district. I'll have to teach you all how to play it. It is super fun!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Friday was another finding day. Towards the end of the day we met this guy
named Abu who is from Soudain. He is a non practicing muslim and is open to
learning about other religions. We shared the Book of Mormon with him and then
prayed with him in the street and set up a time to see him the next day. He gave
us his phone number and address.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday we went over to Abu's house and he asked us a couple of questions,
that lead into the Plan of Salvation. We taught him about where we come from and
the next time we see him we'll discuss the creation and what our goal on earth
is.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This week we started doing Christmas Contacting and Christmas porting!!
Yay!! :) Christmas contacting is just regular contacting, but we relate things
to the Birth of Christ. We really focus in on Christmas. Christmas Porting is
even better!! We knock on peoples' doors and ask them if we can sing them a song
of Christmas and pray with them, to invite the true spirit of Christmas during
this period of Christmas.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Last night we sang to and prayed with one person, an old lady named
Bridgette. We sang "Douce Nuit, Sainte Nuit" (Silent Night). And then after the
prayer we offered to come back later to share a message about the birth of
Christ, sadly she refused, but it was still really cool that we got to sing with
her.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sorry this letter is so short, I really tried hard to write a lot, but I
guess that's what happens in all finding weeks. I always try looking for
miracles to share with you, though.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all!! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
P.s. Ricky told me that he is going to Snow with me. I'm pretty excited. As
for the shoes and waterproofing, I haven't yet. I don't know of a place in Le
Mans, and when I was in La Rochelle, the closest place was 30 minutes by bus. I
will use that money to buy some new shoes. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!! :)
I'll buy those new shoes during soldes (January - February) because it'll be
less expensive.</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-21202697721846310542014-11-24T07:33:00.003-08:002014-11-24T07:33:54.759-08:00A Visit in Versailles from Elder Cook and Elder TexieraNovember 24, 2014<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr">
Hello Family!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm glad that everything is going well. This week went by pretty
quickly.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tuesday, we had exchanges, I went over to Alençon with District Leader
Elder Miller, who by the way is from Boise area and went to Valley View High
School. He is also related to a Holmstead Family. His name is Alexander
Holmstead Miller, I wonder if he's related to Uncle Stephen?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Our exchange was pretty cool. It was really neat to go and work with him,
when he testifies of the Plan of Salvation, you know that he knows that it is
true and you can feel his deep devotion and love for Heavenly Father. We taught
one of their amis, named Charles, who is from Nigeria. Charles is a bouncer at a
local night club, even though he looks frightful at first sight, he is a huge
teddy bear and wants friendship and love from others. The lesson was super cool,
you could feel the love, and I even felt love for Charles, even though that was
the only time I had met him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday, Elder Quentin L. Cook came with Elder Texiera. Seriously, that
was the coolest conference I have ever been to. First off, there was a musical
number done by some younger missionaries (one of which is an Elder Wilson!! A
different one though). The three of them did super well, it was an instrumental
version done with a Violin, a Pipe of some sort (sounded like a SUPER expensive
recorder flute) accompanied by a piano.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Elder Texiera exhorted us to use Preach my Gospel EVERYDAY as missionaries
and promised that if we use it, we will become better missionaries.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Elder Cook talked about many things, but the things that stuck out to me
was when he talked about 4 of the deciding factors in assigning missionaries to
missions. These factors are impressions that they recieve from the spirit. Some
of these impressions are if they feel like a missionary needs to be under a
certain mission president, or go to a certain culture to learn from it, or learn
a certain language to use it later in their life. So I am here in France because
of one or more of these impressions. The effect of a mission is eternal, not
just one those that get taught by the missionary, but also on the missionary
himself.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He also talked about the 4 relationships on the mission, Elder Cook
referred to them as 'The 4 Loves'. The first one he talked about was love of the
mission president and his wife. We, as missionaries, need to learn how to love
our mission presidents. The next one was love of the people. When we learn how
to love the people as a whole, that is when we start having success. The next
one is love of your companion. We need to love our companions, if there is
contention, that empêche (blocks? Sorry, I forgot how to say the word in
english) the spirit and we won't be able to do the Lord's work in His way. The
last love is love of the Lord. We must love the Lord and be willing to do things
in His way and in His time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The conference was probably the best conference I've been to. The spirit
was super strong and I felt very edified by the time we left.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Also, before it began, Elder Cook wanted to shake hands with each
missionary. So we all shook hands with Elder Texiera and Elder Cook. Elder Cook
is definitely an Apostle of the Lord. You can feel it in the way he talks and in
just being in his presence. It was fantastic.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Friday, we had a meeting with out DMP and his wife. They brought these puff
ball things that were super delicious and a champagne-like peach flavored drink.
The sister missionaries in Le Mans gave Elder Jenness and I brownies that were
super delicious as well. Elder Jenness made Break-up Brownies on top of that, as
well, which is a layer of cookies, that you put oreos on top of, then you put
brownie batter on top of that and cook it all together. It was super
delicious.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that was the week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As for Google Hangout, yes, that will be fine.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all!! :) Have a great week!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
Oh, here is a picture of "Steve Carell" eating a break-up brownie,
and then a picture of us at a bus stop catching the last bus after Porting on
Friday night.</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-61510937322505053752014-11-24T07:29:00.000-08:002014-11-24T07:29:18.313-08:00Transfer to Le MansNovember 17, 2014<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr">
Hey Famille!!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So to start off, Transfers went well. I had about 5ish hours of trains on
Wednesday, but 7 hours of trains total for transfers...ha. We took a train from
La Rochelle to Nantes Tuesday night (2 hours 15 minutes ish), then Nantes to
Paris Wednesday morning (2 hours and 15 minutes) then I took a TER (the slowest
of all trains) to Le Mans, which took 2.5 hours.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Cool miracle that happened, when I got off the train at Le Mans, I
accidently left my shoulder bag on the train. I realized about an hour later
when I couldn't find it as we were heading out after eating. We went to the gare
and asked the SNCF workers if they had found it, they helped us get to where we
needed to go to ask the right people. They said they hadn't found it, but they
called up the train depot and they had it! I then recieved my bag about 2 hours
later. With everything in it, including my camera. I am so thankful for kind
SNCF workers. :) I'm super blessed!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My new comp is "Steve Carell." He's from Indianna and his name is actually
Elder Jenness, but he looks like Steve Carell. I'll send pictures next week. :)
He's 22 and he is in his 5th transfer. And he CAN SING!!! You know what that
means right? Singing in the morning, no more of me carrying the tune and my comp
trying to follow along but can't because he can't sing. Our first comp study, I
got super excited when we sang. Also, Steve Carell (Elder Jenness) is pretty
legit. He's a hard worker and ready to go out to go and find! He has a great
desire to do his best and is very fun to work with. Elder Jenness likes to cook
and also likes to get up at 6 to workout. So we've been getting up at 6 to
workout, it's been tiring but great. And we eat very well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Le Mans is pretty cool. There is a tram here, so basically public
transportation here is going to be really great! :) Le Mans is a very beautiful
ville and our appartement is very well placed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Speaking of Primary Programs, the ward here in Le Mans had one this week!!
It was super great and I was smiling during the whole thing. The little kids
were adorable! And a couple of them even did some funny things ;)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So this week, we have a conference in Versailles, Elder Cook will be
coming!! He's coming the day before my birthday, I'm pretty excited!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So here is my new address, bien que je vous aie dit de ne pas m'envoyer des
colis. ;)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
49 Rue Marengo </div>
<div>
72000 Le Mans</div>
<div>
France</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Speaking of sending me things, could you send me the recipe for Rolled
Cookie Dough (the pillsbury recipe) and Yum Yum Cake? :) Thanks :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all! Have a great week! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-52866758898489755762014-11-24T07:27:00.001-08:002014-11-24T07:27:27.192-08:00Pizza DeliveryNovember 10, 2014<br />
<br />
<div>
Hey Famille!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This past week was pretty good. A little long, but also super great.
Counting our two mangez vous that we have today, that will make seven mangez
vous in seven days.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On the subject of food, I've learned quite a bit about the human body
during my mission. When I eat terribly, I feel terrible. When I eat well, I feel
very well. When I eat way too much, no matter if it's healthy of not, I feel
terrible. That's something that members in general don't understand about
missionaries. They are just like normal humans. But members normally think that
missionaries need to gorge themselves with food, so they give us giant portions
expecting us to eat everything. But I have found that this can be rather
handicapping at times....ha But despite that, I really am grateful for the
members that really do take time to give us food to eat. It's great to get to
know the members.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, with this week being transfers, we kind of knew that I would leave, so
we had a Rendez-vous with Mehdi one last time to find out why he stopped the
lessons and also to say good bye and exchange info so we can stay in contact.
Mehdi is seriously super cool!! It's sad to me that he stopped with the
missionary lessons, but I am glad that he still wants to be our friends. He has
super amazing standards and will go on to do great things.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Fitt's did a little Tours trip to check the apartments there (that's
where Elder Smith is at), and Tours is known for their giant Tours Religeuse.
The Fitt's brought Elder Godfrey and I each our own Tours Religeuse, which still
hasn't been eaten. We're hoping to finish them by tomorrow.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This week we taught a young, 20 year old guy, Richard, and his girlfriend.
The way Richard was found was a complete miracle. A couple weeks ago, we were
walking down a street at night and a pizza delivary guy asked us to use our
phone because he forgot his. So we let him use it. After he gave the pizza to
the person, he then gave us his number and told us that he had talked with the
Elders in Togo, and that he'd like to talk with us sometime. When we had the
rendez-vous, he brought his girlfriend with him. We taught them about the
Restoration and they seemed like they really were touched. We set up a return
rendez-vous with him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, here is the news, after six months, I'm leaving La Rochelle. I'll be
going to Le Mans, which is just east of Angers. It's in the Tours Zone!! So
Elder Smith will be my Zone Leader, how cool is that?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Today, the Fitt's fed us, they did a "birthday dinner" for me before I
leave, even though I won't be here for my birthday. They also gave me an Apron
for when I cook!! :) Sister Fitt has a super great memory. I've really
appreciated getting to know them. They've basically become like another mother
and father to me, out here in the mission field.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, I have a question, I know there are many Wilson's, but are we, by
chance, related to an Edward Donald Wilson who is married to a Lynn Ann? They
are a new couple in the mission, I haven't met them yet, but I was just
curious.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all!! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-71630825056167583982014-11-24T07:25:00.002-08:002014-11-24T07:25:34.675-08:00BaptismNovember 3, 2014<br />
<br />
Hello Family!!
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This week was a tough week, not gonna lie. But it was also such a rewarding
week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, Wednesday, we had district meeting. One of the Sister Training Leaders
gave a formation on using analogies and object lessons in our teachings. It was
a pretty good teaching...even if we are encouraged not to use analogies nor
object lessons because that can complicate teachings and sometimes, teach false
doctrine. But it was a pretty fun formation nevertheless.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday and Friday were all finding days. It was pretty tough. These past
weeks have been rather finding weeks, which can be uplifting...but it rather
tends to get a little discouraging. Sometimes. Friday night, both of us were
feeling pretty down. We still had some time and had NO idea what to do. Then we
prayed and felt like we should go pass by a non active member. I had to pee, so
on the way, we found a place where I could do so. Then we went onward. As we
were going to this member's house, we contacted a lady that was super believing
and super into hearing more. She told us many times "It's so good what you're
doing. Continue well. Don't get discouraged." That was exactly what I needed at
that time to help me keep going. We talked with her for about 35 minutes and
shared the Restoration with her and gave her a Book of Mormon and prayed with
her in the Street. She actually lives over in a place called Cognac, which is
more than an hour away from La Rochelle, and it is in Bordeaux Stake, which
isn't in our mission. I hope that the missionaries in the Angoulême branch can
make their way out there.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday night, we went out to the Bishop's house with the Fitt Couple. We
were going to go with Mehdi, but he decided that he doesn't want to get
baptized, and so he declined the offer. But the Bishop still wanted us to come
despite that. It was really neat to be their and talk with him and his family.
For our spiritual thought, we focused on the children. We talked about Joseph
Smith's story and had the kids explain what happened. It was pretty cool to hear
the story in the words of children. Right before leaving, we discussed with the
Bishop about his personal missionary work. We invited him to invite some of his
friends to join them for a family home evening.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday, was a finding day as well. But it seemed a little better than
Friday. And then Saturday night, we ended up walking about an hour to go to
someone's house to visit him. His name is Gendry and he is very, very much so
evangelical. Which is great, but it makes teaching really tough. You need to
know the bible super well to teach avid evangelists. He ended up asking us
questions on some things, like authority, laying on of hands and stuff. He
doesn't believe that you need the laying on of hands to recieve the Holy Ghost.
Which is sort of true. You don't need the laying of hands to FEEL the Holy
Ghost. But to receive the GIFT of the Holy Ghost, which is the right to have the
Holy Ghost with us at all times as long as we are worthy of it, it must be given
by the laying on of hands. Sadly, we didn't know scriptures to help him
understand that, but now, we know some scriptures for future reference. Hebrews
6:1-2, Actes 8:14-17. It was a pretty cool rdv even with that. It was just
awesome to be around people that really love the word of God.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday, the day that made the whole week SO much better!! :) Kicked it off
with a super missionary minute. Every Sunday we have a Minute
Missionnaire (missionary minute) in Priesthood Meeting that we use to try to get
members excited about missionary work. Normally, missionaries just share
miracles that happened during the week, which is good, but I've learned during
my mission that there is a block between missionaries and french members. First,
we're missionaries, we're supposed to see miracles every week. It's expected.
Second, normally we're American. So what we say automatically doesn't apply to
them because they are French (just a little bit of the French mentality in
general.) But I have learned that when we ask the members to share their
experiences and encourage them to pray to have missionary experiences, they
listen, they get excited, they apply it to themselves. This Sunday, three
leaders shared their missionary experiences. The spirit was strong and the
members seemed like they were actually listening to them. It was cool.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then, after church was the Swanepoel's baptism. The spirit was so strong.
Honestly, I got the same feelings that I used to get performing. But it felt
better. It was super strong. Everything went well with their baptisms and
confirmations. We then had a ward dinner after and ate and conversed. It was so
awesome. That experience is probably the best experience I've had on my mission.
Being able to be one of their missionaries. They were definitely prepared for
this time. Bokke and Georget were both smiling from ear to ear after their
baptisms and confirmations. We'll be starting with the New Member lessons for
them this week. I'm so excited. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that was the week. Hey, you finally got the package back!!! Haha. Elder
Paitrault tried sending it to Cergy, but they never gave me a notice that I had
a package...ha. The Post has some problems in France... I guess I'll benefit
from that after my mission alors.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I hope Kaysen stops growing. ;) I gotta stay the biggest. :) He can have
the biggest feet, but I need to be the tallest. How much does he weigh?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all. Have a great week. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-28461565073035355572014-11-24T07:20:00.000-08:002014-11-24T07:20:07.870-08:00Catholic Mass<div dir="ltr">
<div>
October 28, 2014</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Hey Family!!</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I got your email. We had to change our P-day this week because of baptismal
interviews with the Swanepoels.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
So, this past week has been pretty long. But, it was still great
nonetheless. It kicked off really well on Tuesday with Exchanges down in La
Rochelle. I was with Elder Nielsen this time, Elder Godfrey was with Elder
Tarbet. Elder Nielsen and I headed over to the church to meet someone for a
rendez-vous, but we were frudg'd. He didn't show up, so we started walking back
to the appartement to have dinner. As we were making our way back, an older
gentleman pulled over and motioned for us to come over. So we came over and he
unrolled his window...then was just silent. So I asked "Est-ce que vous cherchez
quelques choses?" He replied "Vous êtes des Mormons, n'est-ce pas?" We replied
in the affirmative, (which I normally don't reply that way. Usually I say that
we are from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and that people
nicknamed us the Mormons.) He then said "I was in contact with the Mormons 30-40
years ago. Here's my card. I live over in that building over there. Can you come
over at 15h00 tomorrow?" So we looked at our schedule and we "squeezed" him in.
(haha, kinda like in the Best Two Years.)</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
We went out porting that night and prayed with two different people. It was
pretty cool and miraculous. We even gave a Book of Mormon to one of them. Sadly,
they weren't interested to learn more though.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
So then Wednesday, Elder Godfrey and I headed over to that guy's
appartement. His name is Christian and he was baptized in Marseilles. He was
ordained to a priest. He then went away from the church because of little things
that bothered him (calling each other brother and sister and small stuff like
that) and because of his work. He was in the French Navy basically since the age
of the Dinosaures. He's moved around quite a bit. He saw us walking and decided
that he'd try to come a sunday or two. He was a very nice guy and I hope that he
comes...he lives a five minutes walk from the church. (Or, because I have read
it recently, And it was a five minute walk for a Nephite.)</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Wednesday night, we received permission from Président Babin to go to a
Catholic Masse for a student ward in La Rochelle that we were invited to. The
service itself was really confusing and didn't make too much sense to me. The
"Father" (the priest) read some parable and "expounded" on it...but didn't
really actually expound on it...and then there was one part when a bunch of the
students just fell on their knees at the same time...Elder Godfrey and I had NO
idea what to do. Ha. It was very interesting. I don't think I'll convert over to
Cathotholism. I'll stay in The Church of Jesus Christ. Afterwards, there was a
dinner for everyone, and many students insisted we go, so we did. It was really
cool to speak with people our age. Real, believing young adults. It was a really
neat experience.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
And then the rest of the week we went our searching for people who'll
listen to us. We saw this guy on a bench playing guitar, so we went and listened
to him. After he finished his song, he asked us who we are and what we're doing
and stuff. We ended up teaching him the Restoration right there. He then let me
play a couple songs with his guitar, it was pretty cool. We set up a return
rendez-vous with him for this Thursday.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Yesterday was quite the stressful day. The Swanepoel's let us know that
Bokke would be playing Rugby the sunday after their baptism, which means they
wouldn't be able to come to get confirmed (we do all our baptisms in La Rochelle
on sundays, so that all the ward members can be there). So we called up the
bishop to explain the situation, he then told us that if we got permission from
the mission president, we could do it all the same day. So after a 15 minute
call with the mission president, we called the bishop letting him know that we
received permission to do so. Then we called the Swanepoel's back and let them
know that, they then asked if we could do the interview Wednesday instead...so
we asked if it was at all possible for them to do it today, and they pushed back
the interviews about an hour. It was pretty stressful, but everything with that
went really well. :)</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
On another great note, I am now officially legal for my second year in
France. I'm legal until the 13 of September in 2015.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
About Halloween. The French don't really celebrate it. Last Halloween I
think I saw 5 kids dressed up. If that. Halloween isn't big at all. Especially
those that are part of the Jehovah's Witness. But that religion doesn't
celebrate like any holidays. Some French find it rather atrocious, others think
it's super weird, others would love to celebrate it, but don't want to alone,
and then others don't care and celebrate it themselves.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sorry this week is so short. We don't have too much time. :P</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I love you all and hope everything is going well! I'm glad that you're
having fun showing everyone my "frost-bitten" feet. Here's a quote for you, if
you get it "His feet have the black!!" :)</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-23166090653905363252014-11-24T07:17:00.000-08:002014-11-24T07:17:07.238-08:00Zone Conference in AngersOctober 20, 2014<br />
<br />
Hey Everyone!!
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First off, so I don't forget, I hope Dad's birthday went well a couple
weeks ago. And also KAYSEN!!! (pretend like I'm singing at the top of my lungs
and being a super, awkward creeper.) "15 Years ago you were born, yeah that's
right it's your special day (on sunday). So have a happy birthday!!! Happy
birthday!!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bon, buh this week went pretty well. We taught Mehdi (the ami) about the
Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ this week. He is such a smart
guy. He understands everything perfectly. He's been such an example to me. Any
time he has some kind of issue that comes up, he prays about it. And then he
feels at peace. And then later he talks to us about it. And it's pretty cool. He
resolves his own concerns. Most of his concerns tend to be more moral things, as
in "a group of people that I was with started drinking and they started to get
rather agressive, so I left. But they aggressed someone in the group that was
drinking. Should I have stayed and helped out the person out? Or did I act well
in leaving?" And he's noticing that he's changing as he's getting closer to
Christ and Heavenly Father. He says that they've been really good changes. After
our very first rendez-vous, he stopped drinking and smoking completely. He said
he didn't smoke or drink very often as is, but he decided that doing those
things didn't help him at all, so he decided to stop them completely.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday we had Zone Conference in Angers. I love going to Angers it is
probably the Utah of France, on a cleanliness level. Seriously, you could eat
off the streets in Angers. All the formations (France-Paris Missionary lingo for
presentations) were really good. The Zone Leaders' formation was about having a
"Friendly Exchange" meaning making the most out of exchanges. And in the end the
goal is to make every day a "Friendly Exchange".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Babin's did a scripture chase with us to emphasize the importance of
knowing scriptures. Reminded me of a game we used to play in Seminary. It was
very fun and very instructive. :) Then the interviews went really well. The
interviews were basically just nice, loving conversations. It didn't feel like
an interview at all. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Fitt couple rented a car to drive down in (because their car is, as
they say, sick and needs to go to the doctor.) and they took us down, but we got
to take a train back, because they needed to do appartement checks and so they
were staying overnight in Angers. Our train left from Angers at 17h00. We had a
correspondance in Tours, then took a train from Tours to Poitiers (which isn't
in the Paris Mission...but it's okay. Missionnaires don't directly order
tickets, we command them through an office couple, then they order the tickets
for us. So I've been outside the mission boundaries twice now...once when I came
to La Rochelle, and then this last trip.) Poitiers looks like a super cool
ville. Elder Godfrey and I took pictures so we'll always remember our trip.
Ha.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday, I played the piano for sacrement meeting. We sang Because I Have
Been Given Much, C'est Sur La Croix (don't remember what that one is in
English), A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief, and Love One Another. It's been a great
experience to play the piano for the ward. And my piano skills are improving.
It's been pretty cool.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That was the week this past week. I'm glad you had a great laugh about my
foot "disease." ;) I'll see if I can get some water proofing stuff. We're gonna
go look for new shoes for Elder Godfrey today (he really, REALLY needs new
shoes...) and the place we're going to will have some stuff I could possibly
get.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well I love you all!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
-Elder B. Stanton WilsonTeresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-60386520531261490762014-11-24T07:10:00.001-08:002014-11-24T07:10:29.303-08:00Missing LettersHere are a few weeks that hadn't been posted yet:<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr">
September 29, 2014</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Hello Family,
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, this past week passed really well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Monday, during our P day, we headed over to a store called Lidl to go and
buy some juice...now, Lidl is like one of the cheapest stores ever...it's kind
of like Ross, but for produce/food. BUT Lidl has THEE best juices ever. So on
our way, our ami José saw us and stopped in his car to talk to us. Turns out he
needed some help getting a website for his work online, so he asked us if we
could help him. We said we could try, he ended up being able to get it up
himself later though. But it was really cool to be in the right place at the
right time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then later Monday night, we went to the Razamadraibe's house so that I'd be
able to say goodbye to them, since it was a high possibility of me leaving. It
was really fun. By the way, the game Cranium is very, very difficult in French.
:)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tuesday we had our last District meeting of the transfer. It was pretty
good. It was mostly just a discussion on the Spirit and promptings from the
spirit. We ate our lunch together afterwards, and then took some district
photos. I forgot to bring my camera to emails today...so no photos for you. :/
Désolé.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wednesday we met with the Swanepoel's at the Church in La Rochelle and
taught them with Frère Forbes, who is a Rugby player for La Rochelle's team.
Even though the Swanepoel's boys were screaming the whole time, Frère Forbes
bore a powerful testimony on the truthfulness of the church and of Joseph Smith.
It was really great. The Swanepoel's both talked about how they know that Joseph
Smith was a prophet. They are definitely getting more and more ready for their
baptisms.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday morning, I had a rendez-vous for my second year legality in
France. The RDV went really well...except, remember a year ago...the whole
Afgahn thing? That came up again. Apparently I've been an Afgahn the whole past
year. Bahaha!! The lady that was going through my papers and stuff was very kind
and was able to change my nationality from Afgahn to American. So, I think I'll
stay American for the rest of my life. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That evening we had a rdv with our ami Mehdi. We shared with him the First
Vision and bore testimony on it. He said that what we told him really spoke to
him. He also said that we are both smart and know our stuff, then he added,
"It's not an intelligence from the brain, it's like...an intelligence from the
heart. Like you've really reflected on this and pondered it, and that you know
without a doubt it is true." That really was a cool compliment to receive. If
our testimonies come off strong like that, it's not only because of us and our
experiences we've lived, it's because of the spirit. The spirit was so strong
during the lesson. Mehdi accepted the soft invite to baptism. He invited an
invitation to come to church as well. He also had brought his guitar, because he
wanted to hear me sing, and then he asked for some help on a song that he's
working on. It's in english, so he asked us if he is pronouncing everything
correctly. He's pretty good. He held his engagement to come on sunday. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Friday, we met the less active Mehdi. We were originally going to meet at
his house, but 10 minutes before the RDV he asked if we could just meet at the
Chapelle, which was a GENIOUS idea! It was the first time he had walked into a
church in the last 5 years. That was a really big step for him. We talked with
him in the Sacrement room where he expressed his feelings that he had being
there. He even came to church this sunday for the first time in 5 years!! The
ward was SO great at welcoming him in. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday we went to Niort to teach Christian, then to do a Samedi Sport
with Josué, one of the Razamadraibe sons. During our lesson with Christian, he
called us telling us that he had a music event and we'd need to push back
basketball a bit, he then invited us to come and told me to come and play a
couple songs. We came and I was able to play a couple songs. (I guess this was a
rather musical week...haha) Then basketball ended up falling through. Josué's
friends weren't able to come and play.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Transfers, we received a rather surprising call Saturday Morning from
Président Babin, guess who is going to Tours as a Zone Leader? Elder Smith and I
weren't expecting that, but he'll do a great job. So, it appears that I'll be
staying at least 6 months in La Rochelle. We totally thought I would be leaving,
but the Lord has higher ways and still has more for me to do and learn here in
La Rochelle. I'll be welcoming in Elder Godfrey, who was at the MTC with me.
He's pretty chill, so I'm excited. He is a beast of an Athlete. Or at least, he
was in the MTC, let's hope a year on the mission hasn't changed that. ;)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With Elder Smith parting to Tours, I've accepted a new calling as the Ward
Pianist. It's not really a calling, because we're not set apart for it, but I'll
be taking over for Elder Smith. We trained each other. For two transfers, he was
training me to become the Pianist of the La Rochelle ward and I was training him
to become Zone Leader. (that's just the joke he and I have been cracking ever
since we received that call.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm pretty excited for this new transfer, the news was rather surprising,
but it's gonna be great. It'll be sad to say goodbye to Elder Smith, he and I
have become pretty good friends over these past 12 weeks.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Don't worry for you, I'll look for you at GC. Look for Elder Tripp during
the Priesthood Session!!! He's going to be in the MTC Choir!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Also, we just recently were given a Crock Pot, so could you send me some
awesome crock pot recipes that you've already tried? I'd love to use it more.
Elder Smith and I make Café Rio Pork last week and it turned out SUPER! We used
a recipe that I got from an Elder in the mission. (I didn't want to try the one
you sent me because the Salsa in France is gross. Tastes more like a very sweet,
chili-powder jelly...ha) Also, could you send me the recipe for Rolled Sugar
Cookie Dough? The pillsbury recipe. :) Thanks!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all and hope you have a great week!</div>
<div>
Stay Fly!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
September 15, 2014</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
Hello Family!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's good to hear that most all is going well. It's too bad to hear that
momma was/is sick. Reposes-toi bien maman!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Last P day we went Bowling with the Fitt's. Guess who got over 100? :) I
know that's not too high, but hey, for not bowling for QUITE some time, I'd say
that bowling a 104 isn't too bad. I'll send you some pictures.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Buh, this week was a different week. The Fitt's went on a Tour de France
all week, so it was rather odd being in La Rochelle with out a couple
missionary. By the way, when I say Tour de France, I mean appartement checks in
Bretagne. They seriously went through all of Bretagne in like 5 days. Bless
their souls, that's TONS of driving. They were a little wiped out from their
trip.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Meanwhile, In La Rochelle, Elder Smith and I had double exchanges (meaning
that both équipes work in the same secteur) Tuesday/Wednesday with the District
leader and his Comp in La Rochelle. I was with the DL, Elder Nielsen, from
Tremonton. The exchange went well. It's very interesting how much the plans that
are made, that may seem inspired at the moment they are planned, can change so
fast.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After Dinner, we were going to go somewhere to do some porting, but as we
started approaching the area on the bus, I felt like we should pass by Geni (the
ami that got super offended when I was with Elder Rigby). So we did. He happened
to be there, invited us in to talk and to eat dinner with him and his wife. He
did mention that he was still offended at "Collin" (he likes to know our first
names, then he likes to call us by them. Lucky for me, he can't remember mine to
save his life!!) about not being able to come in our appartement, which being
interpreted means, he is still offended at the missionary rules and doesn't
understand them. He was very nice though!! We shared a scripture with him,
something along the lines of "come unto Christ" (the one in Moroni 10 near the
end of the chapter) and invited him to church. He said he might come, it depends
on his sick mother. He did not attend church this week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Even though Geni is still offended, he did seem happy to see us. I do feel
like that impression to visit him was from the Spirit. It is SO important that
we follow the spirit every time he prompts us.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wednesday, we finished the exchange and sent the Elders back off to
Nantes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday we went and printed off a picture of the Paris Temple (what it is
supposed to look like) to go give it to a Less Active member, who, a few weeks
ago, we had promised to bring her a picture of it after she talked about her
experience when she was 15 in doing baptisms for the dead at the Geneva temple.
When we gave it to her, her face lit up. It was pretty cool. I hope she will
soon get the desire to come back to church.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Friday we finally were able to see the Swanepoel's!!! Yay!!!!!! We got to
take a train to Niort, then a bus to Fontenay, then waited a bit for Bokke to
come pick us up. They fed us lunch, which was a SUPER delicious spaghetti, and a
millefeuille for desert. We then shared with them Moroni 7:13 and invited them
to continue to pray about the Book of Mormon. Bokke says he hasn't really
received an answer yet, and that he feels like it's more of a story than some
kind of biblical record, but he agreed to continue to pray about it. Georget
though, she said she has recieved her answer. Before they received the BoM in
their native language (Afrikaans) they had it in English. They sat down together
to read it after we talked about it, they struggled for 15 minutes trying to
read one page. And didn't understand any of it (now, they speak english very
well, but when it comes to reading Old English, it's a little harder). Georget
prayed for something for God to give her a reason to keep reading the Book of
Mormon. The next RDV, we gave them Books of Mormon (or is it Book of Mormons?
*insert winky face here*) in Afrikaans. Georget said that that was her
answer.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Interesting information on that, we could have given them the Books of
Mormon in Afrikaans before they had their experience, but when the Fitt's asked
us if we should give them to the Swanepoel's, we both said, hmmm, maybe, we'll
see. Then at the last minute we decided not to, for some odd reason.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We also re-fixed baptismal dates. November 2nd! We've almost finished all
of the lessons with them. It's been super great to teach them!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Friday night, Sister Rigby invited us over to eat with her and her husband
Allen, who isn't a member. Allen is SUCH a hoot!! He switches accents a lot and
it is hilarious. At one point, Sister Rigby was talking about all the apostles
that Allen has heard in person, and she mentioned Spencer W. Kimball. Allen then
said in his American accent, "I had heard he was quite the Kimball Wizard."
Elder Smith and I laughed pretty hard. :) Our spiritual thought we shared was
Moses 1:39.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday we took a train to Niort to visit Christian. We finished the
Restoration with him. His youngest son was there, so we were able to teach him
with Christian. It was pretty cool.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We were supposed to have another rdv with a potential ami, but he
apparently was working. So since we had time, we passed by a member that lives
not far from the Gare and talked with them for a couple minutes before catching
our train.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well, that was the week! I hope you enjoy the pictures. I also included a
picture that we took while we were in Niort.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Have a great week!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Cheers!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-48064173334097493932014-10-15T07:45:00.001-07:002014-11-24T07:12:44.057-08:00Comparison of Enseigner and le Seigneur<div dir="ltr">
<div>
October 13, 2014</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Hello family!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It seems like all went well this past week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For us here in La Rochelle, the week zoomed by!! Elder Godfrey and I were
talking yesterday about how crazy it was. It was probably the fastest week in
our missions.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tuesday, we were supposed to do exchanges in La Rochelle after district
meeting. Our district leader requested all the train tickets for us without
first looking, so the total trajet time would have been about 4-5 hours for a
trip that should only be 2 hours...so we stayed in Nantes for the exchange
instead.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's very interesting doing an exchange without a new pair of undies, a
toothbrush, D.O. for the B.O., and a new pair of socks. We ended up buying new
toothbrushes to use for the exchange. I was with Elder Tarbet, who is Elder
Nielson's bleu. He was pretty cool and even though he had only been in Nantes
for a week, we managed not to get lossed! That is a win! We ended up meeting
someone in the street named Daniel and taught him about the Book of Mormon and
prayed with him. It was pretty cool. And it was pretty cool to be with a new
missionary to learn from him. Something I noticed about him was his humble
willingness. He was so willing to go out and talk with people, even though
proselyting by contacting and porting isn't the most efficient way to work, and
he kept a great attitude despite the rejections.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday was a pretty good day. Very interesting. So the Fitt's car broke
down...and normally they would have taken us to the Swanepoel's...but they
couldn't, so we ended up getting to buy last minute train tickets. We taught the
Swanepoel's and that went very well. Elder Godfrey and I are super stoked for
their baptism coming up. We taught them the last thing on the teaching record,
fasting and honoring the law. After we talked about how there is opposition in
all things and that opposition arises as we get closer to making covenants with
God. We talked about that because they had been confronted by some anti-Mormon
things online and were really concerned. We resolved their concerns then talked
about opposition. Georgette said "the tallest trees catch the most wind." So
true. I'm very thankful for the opportunity I've had to be in their lives and
help them towards baptism and towards the temple.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Later we taught Mehdi about the Plan of Salvation. We just went through the
Pre-earth life until the fall of Adam and Eve. Mehdi is a STUD! Seriously, one
of the most intelligent people I've been privileged to meet and teach. He is
progressing very well towards baptism. His sincerity to learn has really touched
me. Also, he used to not really believe in Christ as the Savior of the world,
but since we've been teaching him, he has grown a testimony of Christ. The Holy
Ghost really does teach us truths.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That makes me think of back to Seminary, when I was going to early morning
seminary with my friends back during sophomore year. Brother Baker always used
many different names for Christ and for the Holy Ghost, one of which is Teacher.
I find it really interesting in French, the word to teach is 'enseigner'. The
Lord in French is le Seigneur. Very close to enseigneur. Cool right?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Back to Thursday. After our lesson with Mehdi we passed by Mbuta. Remember
him? Elder Smith and I invited him to baptism and his first question was "Will I
be naked?" Well, this rdv was very interesting as well. He let us in, plopped
down on his coach, layed down, put his hands behind his head and confessed "J'ai
fait la fête hier." as he groaned. (I partied last night.) We talked about Faith
and repentance with him, and he was not really focused during the lesson because
of his hangover. At the end, we asked him to pray, he started to pray, and then
went to TOWN! He prayed for like 10 minutes. After the prayer, he jumped right
up and was like "dang, that felt SO good!! I feel so much better now! When are
you coming back, you coming back tomorrow night?" It was super
interesting...ha.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that was the week. It's interesting that it passed by so fast, because
it was rather more of a finding week. Normally finding weeks seem to drag on,
but this one just slipped by.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing well. I love you all!! Have a great
week!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
P.s. Dad, could you please send me my line of authority? Thanks :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Also, this year, while it's on my mind and since it's coming up soon-ish,
for my birthday and Christmas, I don't really want any packages. I just want
letters and money. It's fun to receive food and stuff, but I would prefer
letters. :) The money is to replace shoes and such that have been ruined because of all the rain. See picture below. :)<br />
<br />
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-45525514276128522122014-10-15T07:40:00.002-07:002014-10-15T07:40:52.584-07:00An Instrument in His HandsOctober 6, 2014<br />
<br />
Salut la Famille!!
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, this past week was pretty cool.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tuesday, we went and saw the Swanepoel's for Elder Smith to be able to get
a picture and say good bye before he parted for Tours. They fed us a DELICIOUS
lunch!! Seriously, it was so good. And I guess now I like butternut squash.
Georgette made some...and it was SUPER great! We reviewed the Plan du Salut with
them. They remembered it pretty well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wednesday, the Fitt couple picked us up around 7 and we went and dropped
Elder Smith off at the gare. I then hung out with the Fitt's all day until my
comp showed up. Sister Fitt made Pancakes for breakfast, she made around 15-20
pancakes. She at two, Elder Fitt at three...and they had me eat all the rest. We
then went to the Church to help a lady clean the church. We got it done in an
hour and 15 minutes, verses the 3 hours it would have taken her if she tried by
herself. The Fitt's and I then went to a place called Celle-Sur-Bel which is
east of Niort, to visit an ami. We taught him the first part of the Plan of
Salvation, it went very well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Elder Godfrey got in to La Rochelle around 15h30. We then took his stuff to
the apartment and dropped it off, then went out contacting. Elder Godfrey had
some incredible energy coming into La Rochelle. We contacted this old lady named
Christian and shared some of the Restoration with her, then prayed with her. She
didn't really want to learn more, though. But she did keep saying, "there's
something different about you two. You're not like the rest of the youth. Your
face just glows." It was a cool tender mercy to have met her. I hope we will
have the opportunity to cross paths again.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday, we taught our ami Mehdi. We talked about the Book of Mormon and
invited him to read, he accepted. We gave him a baptismal date and he accepted
as well. I really am so grateful for the opportunity that I've had to teach
Mehdi. He is very sincere in his demarche to learn about the restored gospel. He
came to General Conference this Sunday, many of his concerns were resolved in
listening to the apostles and Prophet, as well as talking to the members of the
ward. Mehdi definitely has been prepared.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We also taught the Less Active Mehdi. We talked about how he felt when he
was at church. And we shared Helaman 5:12. It was a pretty great discussion.
Mehdi is definitely coming back to church, every sunday he can.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday was pretty great. So, for the schedule on General Conference,
Saturday evening at 6 PM we watch the Saturday Morning Session live. Then Sunday
Morning at 11, we watch the Priesthood session. 14h00 we watch Saturday
Afternoon, then at 18h00 we watch the Sunday Morning session live. Then we are
to fend for ourselves to watch the Sunday evening session.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Generale Conference was really cool this year. I saw Sister Potter, Sister
and Brother Jensen, Tori Fawson, Breanna Eyre, Brother Dangerfield, my freshman
photography teacher (Sister Autry), my calculus teacher (Brother Mouritsen), Sister Christensen (Anna's mom),
Brother Bradfield, an old Swim coach (Kevin), Bishop, and you two!! Wow. And I
have forgotten some others as well...but that was so cool to see you all on the
télé!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I feel like General Conference just gets better and better each time. This
time I really felt like the emphasis was on personal spirituality/testimony. It
was a super great conference and afterwards, Elder Godfrey and I felt the
spiritual power that came from it. As we worked for the last hour of the day, we
were blessed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We saw a guy in the street and contacted him. We were both overcome by the
Spirit and were compelled to testify. The Spirit really took over, and we were
as an instrument in His hands. We testified how He would have had us. Our
contact wasn't too interested though. We both felt super great after that
contact nonetheless. Because we had done our best. It was a really spiritual
contact. Every contact should be like that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We then started porting. We decided to just knock on the doors with lights
on inside, since it was 20h00. We ended up frapping the port of a 19 year old
Catholic, studying in La Rochelle. He let us in to show him how we pray and then
to show us how he prays. We explained to him how we pray and then prayed. After
he thanked us and said that was really cool. He then explained how catholics
pray and then proceeded to recite 'Our Father in Heaven' and then did Mary's
prayer (which is sung). It was really interesting. I am grateful for our
knowledge of continued revelation though. I'm very glad I can express myself
when I pray.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well, I love you all! Thank you for the recipes!! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-57507817322763704052014-10-15T07:37:00.000-07:002014-10-15T07:37:21.567-07:00Toilettes Episode 2September 22, 2014<br />
<br />
Hello Family!
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This past week was a miracle week!! It was very difficult, but so worth
everything.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The tone was first set last monday en faisant du Coeur-à-coeur (President
Babin said that calling it Port-à-port is pessimistic, we should call it
coeur-à-coeur which means heart to heart.) le soir. We "coeur'd" our way around
this small town JUST outside of La Rochelle called Périgny. We ended up
"coeur-ing" into this guy named José. He is from the Martinique and he is
NORMAL!!! (inside joke with the Elders from Nantes. To explain, they have an ami
named José...who has quite some problems/addictions that the Elders are helping
with...and he kind of calls them 4+ times a day and asks rather bizarre
questions. He's an interesting fellow.) So anyways, our José from the Martinique
was rather skeptical of us and what we were doing, but agreed to pray with us.
After the prayer, we asked him if we could share with him our message unique
about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, so he agreed and allowed us to come back
the next afternoon. We passed by and he opened right up and let us in. We shared
with him the Rétablissement until after the First Vision and invited him to pray
about the First Vision. We also invited him to baptism. He told us that he isn't
ready to be baptized and he assured him that we will help him prepare to be
ready, we also assured him that he won't be baptized this week or next, but that
over time, as he comes to know this is true, he'll be prepared to be baptized.
He accepted the "soft invite." We are definitely blessed to have been led to
José.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tuesday, before we went to José's we passed by Waka (remember her?) because
we hadn't seen her for quite some time. Well, I'll just say that Waka is so open
that she's closed...the lesson didn't go super well. She asked us first if there
is a modernized version of the Book of Mormon, and we just kind of gave her a
blank stare, not really understanding what she was asking. Then she brought out
her bible, which happens to be a modernized version of the bible. She said it's
easier for her to read. Cool thing, Waka believes that the Book of Mormon is the
word of God, but then she also stated that she wants to know if there are more
books like that from other people and then she started talking about how every
religion is good and is of God...we shared with her Ephesians 4:5 (in her
modernized Bible) and asked her what her thoughts were. She answered that she
didn't know. She then said that maybe it means that we need to become as one
through our faith with God, then she added that it can mean anything though and
we can't know what it really means because we are not the writer. That's the
first time either of us have recieved an answer like that to such a franche
scripture...we both just felt like the best thing to do would be to close the
lesson with a prayer and leave in hopes that maybe someday, another set of
missionaries will be able to help her.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wednesday we had district meeting. It went kind of short. It was great!!
That reminds me of a quote Elder Fitt shared with us a while ago, that is
"Brevity is charm. That which is good, if short, is doubly good. That which is
bad, if short, is not so bad." Think of that in the sense of duration of
talks/meetings/etc. Although, despite the meeting itself being short, the meal
was rather strange. An équipe brought cereal, another brought beef stroganouf,
we brought kool-aid (something that one cannot find in Europe), another brought
a green salad, and there was dessert as well. Cereal and noodles are definitely
a weird combo together.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Friday a miracle happened as we were walking to go to a less active members
house to pass by. As we were walking, a potential ami that had contacted us on a
bus (haha, that rhymes!) named Mehdi crossed paths with us. He asked us if we
had time to talk right now, so we found a bench and started to talk. We found
out about his beliefs and did some How To Begin Teaching (see chapter 10 of
Preach My Gospel. Kaysen, get familiar with that, you'll use it with everyone
you meet!!) Mehdi is one of our younger amis, he's 27. He is also in a
Country/Folk band. After we got to know him a little bit better, he asked us
some questions about us and what we'll do after our missions. I told him I'm
going to study music and that I have a voice scholarship. He asked if I could
play him something the next time we meet and I told him if he brings his guitar,
I'll show him a couple of songs. I feel super blessed to be able to have this
occasion to do that. It's not very often that I get to play music. It's my
dream, you know, to help someone get interested in the Gospel through music. We
set up a follow up rdv with him for this week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday in doing some more Coeur-à-coeur we found a guy named Thierry who
is from Calais, which is up north, even further north than Cherbourg. He let us
in to pray with him and agreed to let us come back to share our unique message
about Christ and the family unit. He'll be leaving back to Calais this Thursday,
so maybe while he's there, he could possibly meet with the Elders up there. That
would definitely be a tender mercy for them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday, after church, we felt like we needed to pass by a non active member
named Mehdi. We've had no luck getting in contact with him for about the past
six weeks, but we felt like we needed to pass by him again. So we did. And he
was there!! Mehdi has some changes to make in his life, we shared with him Alma
7:11-13 and that really set the tone. The spirit was so strong and all that
could be felt was His love. We let Mehdi know that we love him and that we're
all waiting for him to come to church. And that the bishop can help him through
the repentance process, and above all, that Christ and Heavenly Father are there
for him. We set up another rdv with him for this Friday, we'll come by with the
Ward Mission Leader so that Mehdi has a friend at church this sunday.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This week, we were truly blessed by the Lord. You know, Elder Smith said
something the other night that really hit me hard. It was saturday night and he
talked about how amazing the feeling was when we prayed with Thierry, I stated
that I didn't really feel that same way. And he described why he felt that way.
He said, "It feels good to play in a basketball game for me, and I'd love to
play basketball, or even watch an NBA game. For you, you'd love to play music or
soccer. These things all end though. But what we are doing now is eternal." That
is so true. A song ends, a concert ends, a game ends, a sport season ends,
school ends, and even a mission ends. But this work is Eternal. What we do here
will have an Eternal effect.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So you may be wondering about the toilet thing for this week. Well, one
night this week, after I was done pee-ing, I went to open up the bathroom door,
as I moved my leg, it hit the toilet seat...and broke the hinge...so there is
another one of Elder Wilson's Toilette Adventures. We have a new toilette seat
now, just FYI. :) I may send you pictures next week, don't worry, the toilette
is very clean. I am a professional toilette cleaner. :D</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well, I hope this next week goes well. This is our last week of the
Transfer. We'll find out the deets this Saturday.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-39772283724204822432014-10-15T07:32:00.001-07:002014-10-15T07:34:38.163-07:00Elder Wilson vs. la ToiletteSeptember 8, 2014<br />
<br />
Hello Family,
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So first off, for the scripture. No, I don't want that scripture. That's
not my favorite one. Could you put Alma 26:27,31? Or if not, just verse
27?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This past week went by pretty well. It was rather long, but it was still
super great. :) Tuesday we had a nice big zone conference in Angers. It was
pretty cool. Everything was all about teaching and was directed at helping us
improve our teaching. It was supposed to end at 3 but went 40 minutes over...but
it went by pretty well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Not too much happened during the week...until FRIDAY!! We just had a super
magical day. We combined forces with the Lyon mission. We did an all finding
day, with the goal to find 1000 new amis/leçons. We were instructed to stop
every 30 minutes to do a prayer with our companions. It made finding a lot more
spiritual and uplifting than it usually is. It was rather great! Friday seemed to
fly by SO fast!! I was actually rather amazed. Usually an all finding day seems
to go by a little longer than normal. We did have to opportunity that day to
stop finding for a bit to help our ami, Sonia, move. It ended up taking 2 hours,
but it was so rewarding. She was so grateful and then she even gave us the phone
number of her little brother to "go and pray with him and share with him our
message." So we have a potential ami thanks to the service opportunity that was
given.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have learned that some of the best missionary work we can do, members and
missionaries alike, is service. Service really is the way to open one's heart.
It not only opens those whom have been served, but those equally that are
serving. As we serve each other, our hearts open to one another creating new,
lasting friendships that are founded on a base of charitable love. Ammon is a
super great example of this in the Book of Mormon.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday, we had a rdv scheduled with Anne, but she texted and told us that
she was sick. We offered to give her a blessing and she accepted. We went over
there with a member named Pierre Nicolas. We explained what a blessing is and how
it is performed. And then asked her what was the reason of the blessing. She
explained to us what had happened, and all I will let you know is that she was
wronged very maliciously by a friend. She then chose Pierre Nicolas to do the
anointing and I to do the blessing. After the blessing she said she felt better.
We then talked to her about her smoking problem and proposed to talk about the
stop smoking program we have. She agreed to read over it and expressed that she
has a desire to stop. We then let her know we would put into initiation the
program the next time, and she agreed to that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We were able to see Raphael this week as well, we shared with him Alma
34:32 and then ended up talking about the atonement and how that can help us in
our lives. He still hasn't been able to give up his last 1.5 cigarettes yet, and
I think we found out why. He expressed that he said it was him who had started
smoking and who continues to smoke, so it must be him who stops. And that Christ
can't be the one who makes him stop. We testified to him about the Atonement and
the healing power it has to help us over come temptations and addictions in our
life. And then we ended with a prayer (comme d'hab). I do honestly feel like the
reason he hasn't been able to make this last step is pride. He seems to feel
like it's all up to him. Which, in a sense is correct, it's up to him to choose.
He can choose to rely on Christ and come to the realization that he can't quit
without His help, or he can continue to struggle through this like he is. We are
hoping we can help him through this.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So Church yesterday went pretty well. Although, during Sacrament meeting,
the microphone was having troubles, so l'épiscopat just turned it off. Well,
even though the microphone was off, almost everyone that came up and bore their
testimony still adjusted the mic. Finally, a member came up to bare his
testimony and started off by saying how funny it was that despite the fact that
the microphone was off, everyone was still adjusting it. After, people still
adjusted the mic, then would realize that it was off and would stop touching it.
It was rather funny. I thought certain among you might enjoy that little
experience there. :) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, I had quite an interesting experience yesterday. We went to the gare to
check out train times to be able to plan when we can go to Niort this week (the
Fitt couple will be in Britagne all week doing apartement checks...so we're on
our own this week.) and to find train times to go see the Swanepoels. Well,
while we were there, I had to go...pretty bad. And they have this bathroom that
is in the corner. It basically looks like a big wooden box. I had never used it
before though. So since I had to go so bad, I decided to try it out. I walked in
and locked the door, found a place to hang my bag when I started to notice. This
bathroom stinks. But not like a bathroom...It smelled like a very clean chicken
coop. Then I realized there wasn't a place to wash my hands...and then I looked
in the toilet. The bowl was a plastic bag that had cedar chips in it...then I
saw a dispenser that had cedar chips and a scooper to use. I wasn't sure if I
should still use it or not...so I did anyways. I sat down, then I saw a sign
that explained what in the world this odd toilet is. It's a dry toilet!! Made to
save water. These toilets save 20,000 liters of water per year. What you do is,
you do your buiseness, then you scoop enough cedar chips to cover your mess and
leave it clean for the next person. Luckily, after I was done, I did see a hand
santizer dispenser and used it. Very odd experience. I'll include the pictures I
took. :) Just so you can really get the jist of this experience. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that was basically the week here in La Rochelle. As for transfers, they
were 3 weeks ago. So the next one will be in 3 weeks. The Wednesday right before
General Conference. Elder Smith and I both think that I'll be transferred
away...since there have been no missionaries in our mission that have served
more than 2 transfers together. But we will find out in 3 weeks. Ha.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all!! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr">
By the way, quick note, I got word from the Pettitt Family in
Cergy. Dominique got her mission call!! She's going to Frankfurt!! How cool is
that?</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-42004871691569918112014-10-15T07:24:00.000-07:002014-10-15T07:24:23.718-07:00An Inspired Question<div dir="ltr">
September 1, 2014</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Salut, la famille!!
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm glad that everyone is doing well. :) It's always great to hear good
news from everyone. Bah, quoi de neuf?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This past week passed very well. Tuesday was district meeting. Our new
district leader is Elder Nielson, from Tremonton.
He came from being in the office for six months. Whew, I'm glad that wasn't me.
He gave really great formation. At the beginning he had us teach someone a
principle of the gospel, using only clay. It was rather tough. It was really
cool though!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We then did exchanges with Elder Nielson and his comp Elder Cutshall in
Nantes. I was with Elder Cutshall. We ended up having quite some bad luck haha,
but it's all good. We went to someone's appartment for a rendez-vous we were
supposed to have, but they weren't there. So we had a ratez-vous. (the verb
rater [pronounced like rat-ay] means to miss. Ratez-vous isn't really a French
term, it's an old missionary term that Elder Smith and I are trying to get other
people to use as well. We heard it from someone who served in the Paris mission
about 30 years ago.) Then for our second rendez-vous we were supposed to have,
we got on the wrong tram to get there and would have gotten to the guy's house
too late, so they rescheduled for the next day.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I was quite thankful that Elder Smith is my companion though. And I was
also quite happy to get back to our own secteur to work. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thursday, we went and saw the Swanepoel family. Things are rather difficult
with them. Bokke has quite the crazy schedule with rugby and won't be able to
come to church for a while, and since they only have one car, Georget isn't able
to come with the kids to church. Although they are still progressing! We asked
how quitting coffee was going, Georget is having troubles, Bokke said that it's
no problem for him and then looked at Georget and said, "it'll be a lot easier
for her once all our coffee is gone, because we will not buy anymore." with a
super sly grin. When we go to see them this week, the coffee should be all done
with, so that's super great!! :) We will be fixing a baptismal date with them
this week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There is this other ami that we were miraculously able to get in contact
with a couple weeks ago, her name is Sonia. She is African. She will be moving
to Orléans, which is the last area Elder Smith served in. We saw her yesterday
and actually fixed a baptismal date with her. She will be getting baptized in
Orléans though. It's been super great to have been able to meet with her. She
has such great faith, and she doesn't forget about the commitments we give her.
:)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We met with Raphael on Friday and talked about the Divinity. He kind of
understood...his big problem is he feels like to believe that God, Christ, and
the Holy Ghost are three different beings is like being polytheistic. We assured
him that we are monotheistic and then we read in the Guide des écritures about
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. I think that helped him
understand a lot better. We then shared with him Mathew 3:13-19 (I think it's to
19). It's when Christ gets baptized and the Holy Ghost descends in the form of a
dove. And God the Father says "this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased." His eyes lit up after reading those verses. We then asked him about
more concerns he has, and apparently, he has a concern about the law of
Chastity. He said that it's against human nature. He also doesn't like that fact
that people can get excommunicated, he feels like that's against the love of
Christ. He also stated that he didn't agree with excommunication nor the law of
chastity in the Catholic church either. But good news is, he is still trying to
quit smoking. He still can't seem to give up that last one and a half, but he
claims he is making efforts. If only he wasn't so stubborn, and just follow the
7 day program, he'd have quit already.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We went porting last night and we ported into an old couple. At first, the
wife talked for a bit but wasn't interested, then she started talking about her
family, then she told us again she wasn't really interested to pray with us.
Then, Elder Smith asked her, "we were wondering what there is to do around La
Rochelle, could you give some ideas of some things we can do tomorrow?" She went
into her house, door still opened, to look for something, then let us come in.
She offered us each a beer, to which we replied that water would be fine. Her
husband then came and started talking to us. We talked with them (or, rather,
listened to them) for about an hour. Then before we left we asked if we could
leave them with a prayer and they both agreed. It was super cool. I strongly
feel like Elder Smith's question, though not really missionary nor gospel
related, was inspired.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that was our week this week. :) I hope you all have a great week!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068173333765273363.post-54231196318221133442014-10-15T07:21:00.000-07:002014-10-15T07:21:01.744-07:00Parables: A Lesson in Taking Good Notes in SeminaryAugust 25, 2014<br />
<br />
Hello family!
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This week went pretty well. It was a little long, but it was still pretty
great.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Good news!! This week nobody was sick! Yay!! Although, not too much
happened this week...sorta.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We taught Raphael with a member this week and talked about making
decisions, because he's been taught everything...he just needs to make a
decision. We'll that's what we thought. He opened up quite a bit and told us
some of his concerns. Apparently, he's still having troubles with the Book of
Mormon. He has studied TONS of history, and apparently nowhere else is there any
record of people in Jeruselam going to the America's. But his biggest concern is
the Divinity. He was born Catholic, so he believes in the trinity...he has
troubles understanding how God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost can be three
different beings, to him, that sounds like multiple gods. So we found out that
we have some great work to do. I'm just super glad that he opened up that much.
Also, his smoking hasn't gotten worse, but it's been hard for him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We taught the Swanepoel's twice last week. On Tuesday, we talked about
tithing. Cool miracle with that, they were definitely prepared!! The night
before they read in the bible about tithing. They accepted everything very well.
And we went over the Word of Wisdom again with them because they drink coffee.
They committed to stop, so they're on the way of stopping. It's easy for Bokke,
but for Georget, she really enjoys her coffee. It was always a family thing that
she did growing up, and so it's tough for her to break the habit. But she said
she'll work on it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then Saturday, we taught them with the bishop and his wife. Elder Smith and
I got to do a Tour de France to get to the Swanepoel's home. The Fitt couple
wasn't available to come with us, so we ended up taking a 45 minute train to
Niort, then a 45 minute bus to Fontenay. We talked about the 10 commandments
and obedience. They accepted everything very well. Then after the bishop and his
wife took Elder Smith and I to McDo. Haha! It was pretty great. They then
dropped us off at Luçon so we could take a train from there back to La Rochelle.
I think that was the most I've been around my area during my whole
mission.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Speaking of areas, fun fact, the La Rochelle ward is 3,000 square miles!
Not kilometers, but miles. WOW!! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Saturday night we went to visit Anne. She told us that she was too
tired...and we just kinda looked at her like we weren't going to take that for
an answer...then she let us know that she had been drinking and drank too much.
And she was holding a cigarette behind her, trying to hide it from us...so I
guess we have some work with her to do. I hope we can be the missionaries Father
in Heaven would have us be so that we can help her out.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday, a visiting member brought a non member to church!! And she is super
interested in learning about the "mormon" church. She lives about 1 hour away
from La Rochelle. She really enjoyed church though and the Word of Wisdom in
Amis' class didn't scare her away either!! In fact, she's willing to stop
drinking tea and coffee!! I feel so blessed to be here right now.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After church, the Fitt's had invited us over because...it was ELDER SMITH'S
BIRTHDAY!!! He's 20 now, dang he's old. I think he might kick the bucket soon!!
;) I made him buttermilk pancakes for breakfast that morning (just for dad,
POOF, he's pancakes!) Sister Fitt made Chicken Parmesan with Marinara sauce. And
a salad with choices of Ranch or Italian dressings!!!!! (Unheard of in France!!)
And for desert, a no-bake cheese cake that was SO good!!! I definitely profited
from Elder Smith's birfday. He said that his birthday was one of the best he's
ever had, too! (He received a SUPER gift from his family but the thing that was
the best for him was that his father had asked almost every family in the ward
to write something to him, and they put all of that in the package with quite a
bit of other stuff.) It was really cool to see Elder Smith that happy. I felt
happy just seeing how happy he was, it was a nice change.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sunday right after church (before we got to the Fitt's apartment) I was
asked to give a talk in church of "La force des paraboles dans les écritures, en
particulier, celles du Christ." (Vous avez tout compris?) Or in English: "The
strength of Parables in the scriptures, in particular, those of Christ."
Luckily, I'll be giving the talk on the 14th so I have time to prepare. So I'm
going to be reading Christ's parables for the next little while to be able to do
this talk. I'm so thankful for seminary and the notes that I took in my
scriptures!! I definitely will profit from them for life. I was reading over the
Parable of the Sower in Matt 13 this morning, and the notes I took will
definitely help me with this talk.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Later, we taught this guy named Mbata, who is basically an eternal
investigator (he's met with missionaries back even when he lived in the
Congo...he's been in France since about 2006), but he does have potential. We
talked to him about baptism and authority and he asked some questions to us to
make sure he understood everything. One of the things he asked us was how is the
baptism done. So we explained that it is done by immersion, meaning going all
the way under water, then coming back up. He then asked, "Will I be naked?"
Elder Smith and I had to use our poker faces there...bahaha!!! We let him know
that he would be wearing all white clothes, and that he would not be naked. It
was pretty funny.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that's the week. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thank you so much for the Sheet music!! I'm very glad you liked the
letter.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love you all!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
-Elder B. Stanton Wilson</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
P.s.</div>
<br />
<div>
Kaysen to get the music from the iPod to the computer, first you need to
put the iPod in the computer, then after that, pull up the files like you would
for a USB drive (it can't be done through iTunes). Then you need to make hidden
folders/files shown (you can search on the microsoft website on how to do that).
Then copy the folder iPod_control onto the computer and voila, you have the
music on the computer. I can't believe I still remember all that. Oh là
là!</div>
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893380553743509516noreply@blogger.com0