Bonjour
a tous! This week hasn't been your typical week for a missionary! But it was
still awesome!
Cityscape
of Lyon
So!
Let's start with some pretty exciting stuff!
LES
PAROISSE VONT SÉPARER
So!
Lyon currently has three wards. Villeurbanne, Ecully, and Gerland. Around April
13th the Ecully ward is going to split-which means there will be four wards in
Lyon. To make a new ward they are redoing all of the ward boundaries and stuff
so we are going to lose some members and gain some members. Anyway, I bring
this up because I think that they might not add another equip to Lyon but take
a couple from other wards. This is purely speculation but there are already
close to 20 missionaries in Lyon--8 in Gerland ward alone. So we shall see what
happens!
Vieux
Lyon
I'm
just super excited to hear that the Ecully ward is going to split. It goes to
show how the church is growing in France. Not at a super rapid pace, but we are
making some great headway!
LES
CHOSES BIZARRES
Well
I don't know what it was about this week, maybe the weather? But two days in a
row we saw someone using the bathroom in public. I was just beginning to think
that I couldn't be surprised, as my eyes have beheld some pretty weird things here
in the land of Pastries and Cheese. I guess you gotta go when you gotta
go.
So,
on Sunday we were supposed to spring our clocks forward and we thought our
phone would do it automatically because it was on "daylight savings
mode" so we went to bed expecting to wake up an hour earlier than usual. However,
we assumed wrong and were about 45 minutes late to church… Fortunately the
other 2/3rds of the ward also forgot! Bahaha. We showed up and there was hardly
anyone there... so that made us feel better. I think it is funny to see that
people are the same everywhere.
Best
dessert ever!
Apparently
the word for lightning and a well-known pastry is the same: Éclair. So a member
was telling us a story and I feel like I am understanding, but then I hear
"Then the plane got hit by an éclair." Elder Du Pre started
laughing because he saw me get confused so he asked, "Was the éclair
vanilla or chocolate that hit the plane?" Hahaha... After using some
context clues I figured it out... bahaha Silly French language.
ON
A RENDU SERVICE
This
week we did a TON of service. There is a family in our ward right now that is
struggling a bit so with the help of another member we rendered service. While
the family was out of town we finished painting inside their house and did yard
work. To be honest, when we first started I didn't have the best attitude about
it. I felt like we weren't doing true missionary work.
But
this last Sunday, she got up and bore her testimony with tears of gratitude in
her eyes thanking whoever worked on her house. In that moment I was reminded of
the fact that I am a repetitive of Jesus Christ and with that calling, I am
expected to do the things that He would do if He were here. Yeah, maybe we
weren't contacting or teaching lessons but we were lending a hand and I am sure
that we did what the Lord would have done.
GENÈVE
CONFÉRENCE DE ZONE
Geneva
Zone Conference was awesommmmme! We woke up at around 5 so we could make our
train and then we were off! We found all of the other missionaries on the train
and ate crêpes together. (Our zone leaders are super nice... they made us the
crêpes!) After eating crepes and talking for about two hours we arrived and
Geneva and went straight to the chapel.
Soeur
Vidal and myself
(she was in my first district and is going home)
For
those of you that don't know... water fountains don't exist in France. I
remember the first week I walked into the church and was super thirsty. I
searched and found there to be no water fountain in the whole building. I bring
this up because there is a water fountain in the Geneva chapel! Fun fact.
Me,
Elder Schneider *(my dad aka trainer) and my brother
After
composing myself from my pure shock of seeing a water fountain and drinking
from it, we went into the chapel and had the BEST Zone Conference I have ever
been to. The spirit was blatantly present. We had a 70 at the conference with
us. His name is Elder Lund and he is a great friends with President
Roney.
I
probably have never learned so much in such a short time. President Roney gave
us a really cool analogy.
Wind
is a powerful thing. It can do many good things. You can fly a kite with it,
generate power, and sail a boat. It can also do terrible things. It can do
things ranging from messing up your hair to destroying homes and lives.
The
interesting thing about wind is that you can only prove its existence by seeing
its effects. You can feel it, and see its hand in things both good and bad but
you can't visually prove wind without looking at what it can do.
It
is the exact same thing with the gospels. I say gospels because there are two.
There is the gospel of God and the gospel of the devil. There is no logical
proof as to if the gospel of God is true or if the devil even exists but we can
see their influence and existence in the things around us.
I
have seen the good that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings into the lives of others
and myself. I am genuinely happy. I am content in the knowledge that Christ
lives and will redeem me of my sins as long as I ask Him. Conversely I have seen
the effects of living under the gospel of the devil, the absence of lasting
happiness and an emptiness in the lives of those people.
The
only way people can come to the knowledge that the gospel is the absolute truth
is by living it.
NOS
AMIS
Our
amis are doing very well! Annick is doing all right but she wasn't able to come
to church this week so we are a little worried. I think that she will be fine
though. She has her big sister who has the Holy Ghost now so things should turn
out. :)
We
weren't able to teach a ton this week so I don't have a ton to say about our
amis other than they are doing alright! We are really starting to find more
people to teach! :D Which is always good.
MES
ETUDES
I
have been studying Jesus the Christ, which has to be the most profound book ever
written. Talmage was a very inspired man.
I
have found that the more I study the Savior the more I love Him. Each day my
love for Him grows. The sacrifice He made for me becomes a little more real,
His love and conciseness of me is a little more realized, and His willingness
to help me is more understood.
Jesus
is surely the Christ and if we believe in His name, we will be saved when the
time comes to meet God.
That
is it for this week! I love y'all bunches! The gospel is SO true. I bear
personal witness of its truth. I have seen it change lives. And I promise you
all that no matter what your level of faith is, Christ recognizes that and will
help you nurture it.
Je
vous aime
Elder
Johnson
Elder
Zenger and Elder Du Pre
GUESS
MY ETHNICITY
For
your amusement, I will list what people think I am here:
Colombian
Brazilian
Mexican
Honduran
Peruvian
Basically
all of south America
Spanish
Italian
Cantonese
Armenian
Iranian
Pakistani
Indian
Native
American
Filipino
German
Other
Arab places
French
decent
They
guess everywhere but were I actually am from!
