Friday, October 29, 2010

Eggplant, thieves and patience (5 juillet 2010)

Dearest Family,
First of all, I would like to show you an example of how out in the middle of nowhere we are and how rumors become doctrine. Oh là là. Yesterday we were at lunch at the Fitcher's and Soeur Fitcher announced, in no uncertain terms, that she had heard that the Church headquarters are moving to Rome, Italy. She said that Salt Lake City would be deconstructed and that it is all moving to Rome. Her daughter Nadia began to laugh and we couldn't resist either. The true church of Christ will soon be in cahoots with the great and abominable one. Soeur Fitcher said, "You'll see," and then the conversation moved to her new eggplant recipe she acquired in her recent trip to France.
This week has been crazy! On Monday we were at the beach of Magenta (just across from the chapel) on the sandbar taking pictures when our backpacks, which were left some distance from us were picked up by a “needy” Melanesian man and taken away. The Mautz's daughter (who came out to visit) and I saw the theft, and we booked it after the delinquent. We went all over Magenta trying to find them. Luckily I had been too lazy to carry my sack to the beach and had left it at the church, but three of the sisters' backpacks were taken. After a talk with the police, a trip to the station, dinner with the Mautz's, we arrived home at our apartment around 10pm. It was a crazy day. The next morning however the elders received a call that said that the backpacks had been dropped off at the church building. I think the thieves noticed the scriptures and realized with guilt that they had stolen from a religious organization. Well, that’s my theory. They took only the French money and a cell phone and, strangely, pens and mints. They could have done much more damage (keys to apartments, to the church, credit cards, etc), but Heavenly Father watched over what was necessary and we all learned a good lesson.
On Wednesday we had some good lessons with inactive members in the neighborhood, and the Spirit was there. One of the sisters, who came to Church on Sunday, said through tears that she regretted not coming back sooner.
On Thursday I had an incredible exchange with Soeur Mariterangi, a newer sister from Tahiti. The day started out with great personal and companionship studies, and then we got out onto the streets. We went to a lesson with a less-active woman and contacted a bunch of people on the way. It's an enjoyable adventure talking to people and sharing the message. You never know what is going to come out of their mouths and it keeps us on our toes - it's amazing how the Gospel can be tied to just about anything that anyone says. 

We found some potential amis on our way to Soeur Pauline's and had a great lesson with her from Gospel Principles on repentance. Repentance is a true gift. Afterwards we walked around in a search for inactive members in the area and we ended up contacting some teenage girls who were going to go play soccer. We asked if their parents would be interested in the message and they directed us to their house. We talked with their dad, who is currently experiencing familial problems, and shared the first lesson with him. It went well and his interest was visibly peaked. It was a privilege to be with Soeur M.. She is a talented teacher, and she is receptive of the Spirit. We had a quick lunch and then went and taught Isabelle (the recent convert turned less-active), and once again the Spirit was strong throughout the lesson. Then we had another lesson with our amie Anysse. We talked about the importance of the scriptures. She said that she had talked to Milo, her boyfriend, about the law of chastity and he said that it is "not normal" to live that law. We explained that when we do not know God's word and will that we can be blinded by the world and its philosophies (such as the thought that the Law of Chasity "isn't normal"), but that when we read the scriptures it teaches us the difference between error and truth. Our last lesson was on how to follow the prophet with Frère Kilama. That went well. It was an exceptional day, truly. It was a breath of fresh air in comparison to things they way they have been lately. We worked hard and didn't stop or even feign the need to stop. We walked and talked of Christ allowing us to feel the Spirit in our as we went to and from lessons. We were both united in our desire to follow the Spirit and go with his flow – not being too fenced in by our planning and willing to press forward.
The rest of the week was difficult. Soeur Swapp has been experiencing debilitating migraines that keep us in, and Soeur Hurst's neck is killing her. It has been difficult dealing with personal feelings of inefficiency when it comes to such confining situations, but I am learning patience for others and myself.
I have to go! By the way, Happy Fourth of July! I wore the appropriate colors to church yesterday. Too bad that the French and American flag colors are the same.
Love you all.
Love,
Soeur Cummins