WHEELS JUST SPINNING and BEING HAPPY ABOUT IT

So! This week was rather interesting. We have done so many different things  and they have all been important but they haven't really been the best for our missionary work. I'll explain later but in brief we have been running around like chickens without our heads (probably a little bit more organized than that) doing things. 

LUNDI

Monday was a good day! It was P-day so we went and visited a historic site here in Périgeux. Apparently Périgueux used to be the largest ancient city in northern Gaul? So there are a bunch of Roman ruins here. Pretty cool. There are remnants of a coliseum and a Roman temple. We wanted to go into the museum but it is closed on Mondays... LAME. 

Roman stuff

The weather was so nice this week. It really is starting to be spring. The flowers are coming up and the trees are beginning to blossom. Everyone was eating ice cream and stuff... I was like, it is definitely warmer but I don't know if it is ice-cream weather yet. French people LOVE being outside when it is nice. I think it is their favorite pass time. 

Roman stuff

After doing all of our fun P-day things, we went to family home evening with all of the single adults. It was a good lesson and we ate provençale good, which is a very typical French food. Lots of veggies. Very good :) 

yummy food

MARDI

Tuesday: We had a great day planned. The mission is currently closing an apartment here in Perigueux, so we had to go over and clean it out. All of the terrible things to clean too. Like, the floor boards, the cabinets, door frames, etc etc.. We spent about two hours over there and then I started feeling sick. 

We came back to our apartment, ate lunch, and then I just felt like poop. So I lay down and woke up at around five (I laid down like at 3), I felt better, drank some water and then we went out to teach Jean Luc. Who, by the way, is doing great. He keeps telling us he wants to be a missionary. We need to get him to that point. That would be such a sick gratification of all the work and teaching we have put into him. 

MERCREDI

Wednesday: We did an exchange with the Elders who are in Brive. We caught a really early train which ended up being cancelled and we had to take a bus that took an extra 30 minutes. Apparently they were doing work on our gare. 

The exchange with the Brive Elders was really fun. I came back into Perigueux with Elder Berry and Elder Acheson and Elder Whitmer stayed in Brive. A funny thing about that, Elder Acheson and Elder Whitmer are both bleus so neither of them have a super strong level of French. Elder Berry and I were really hoping to hear of some funny stories when we got our sons back but they ended up being able to fix a rendezvous with a member to do service. They escaped contacting for hours which was probably a good thing. They were more effective helping the member than trying to talk to people. hahaha 

Elder Berry and I visited a less active named Aurore. Her boyfriend isn't a member and they have a 7 year old kid. We showed up and she had forgotten about the rendezvous. She wasn't even there but her boyfriend was. He was like.. “uhhh.”  But he let us in anyway. We waited until she showed up and then we were able to share a spiritual thought. 

Elder Berry and I

It was a really awkward rendezvous and we both felt discouraged afterwards. It just didn't go well. We said, ”Well, that wasn't the worst but it wasn't the best either.”  Fast-forward two days later: she sends us a text thanking us for our thought and how it really touched her. She said that things are really hard for her at the moment and that it really was up lifting. It just made me really happy to know that although we didn't feel like we did well, it was a really good rendezvous. It reminded me of a scripture in 1 Nephi 16:29 –“And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.”

Although we felt awkward, we did all that we could. Even though it wasn't very much. But as the scriptures say “... by small and simple things do great things come to pass!” It is a blessing to know that my efforts, no matter how puny my best may be, it is enough. 

JEUDI

Thursday: It was district meeting! It was my first time conducting district meeting and the zone leaders came (which was actually a huge help because I could call on them whenever I didn't know what to say :)) It was fun to see all of the elders in our district. We are a small district but I kind of like it like that. 

After district meeting we went and ate at Soeur Mas' house. She made us delicious tartiflette. If you don't know what it is, look up some pictures. It is a hardy French meal. Pretty crazy that such a thing exists! 

That evening we had to go to Bergerac to do baptism buddies. So we taught their amie, Marie Antoinette and then came chilled (which means did missionary work with them) for the rest of the day. 

VENDREDI

Friday: We caught and early bus back to Perigueux from Bergerac and then did studies and such as normal. We had a lot of finding time on Friday. It was nice because we hadn't, up until this point, had very much the entire week. We talked to quite a few people but no one really was interested. 

Later that evening, we went and ate with a member, Frere DeOliviera and he made this AMAZING chicken. It is was Portuguese food... oh my goodness. I could have eaten the entire chicken. I probably ate half of it. Not even lying. It was so good. Anyway

SAMEDI

Saturday: We cut lots of wood for the Famille Donadier! I got to use a chainsaw. :D It had been a while since the last time I wielded one of those things. It was cool. They are clearing all of this land for all of the wood that they can get off of it. 

It is a different kind of work, but I really like it...mostly because it reminds me of Arkansas and working on the ranch. It is a good de-stressor too. Manuel labor is good for the mind sometimes. We cut lots of wood. Elder Acheson was so tired afterwards. I was too actually now that I think of it. I fell asleep on the 15 minute car ride to their home to eat. hahaha

After we ate with them we showered and then went to the church to prepare for the talent show... that we were in charge of preparing. Yikes, I know. Please be kind to the missionaries in your wards at home and don't give them things like this to do. haha

We get to the church and there is NO ELECTRICITY! NONE! And it is 30 minutes until the soiree show) starts. SO I'm freaking out. I'm checking all of the boxes and everything, nothing. Luckily the branch president showed up and saved the day. There was a box outside that I didn't find. 

We made the branch members laugh SO hard. Elder Acheson played his harmonica and they really, really liked that. And then we did the Star Spangled Banner.... with our special instruments... You know that sound that you can make by saying girl girl girl girl girl over and over into your fist with your pinky finger up in the air? Well, that is what we did and they LOVED it. hahaha. They thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen.  #success

Anyway! That was our week! I've been fighting not getting discouraged lately with ALL of this other stuff that we had to do because we weren't really able to do much finding this week. I want so badly to find more people to teach. It makes me anxious not teaching people because I'm not filling my purpose 100 percent! 

But, I'm happy because I know I'm doing everything that I can do. Elder Acheson is doing everything that he can do. We are successful missionaries. All we can do is invite. Just sometimes it is nice to see some fruit from all of our work. 

The tricky thing is, a lot of the fruit is stuff that we can't even see. I just have to remember that. 

Anyway! Transfer calls this week! I have a feeling like we are both staying but we will see! 

I love you al! 

Elder Johnson