Bonjour à tous,
Voilà, another week has passed on this blessed and blessedly hot island. It is not as bad, concerning temperatures that is, as I thought it might be, but *knock on wood* because who knows how it will get. I am still constant in my efforts to block all UV rays, both those from the sun and those from Satan. This week we had zone conference on Tuesday and I gave a ten minute lesson (we call them "formations") on the line in Doctrine and Covenants 4: "serve with all your heart, might, mind and strength" ("veillez à le servir de tout votre coeur, de tout votre pouvoir, de tout votre esprit et de toutes vos forces"). It went well. The whole conference was a success, although I always find myself slightly overwhelmed at the end of conferences because I can see how much progress I need to make and all the "améliorations" (betterings? is that a word?) I need to make in myself and the work we do. But, I can only take things one day at a time, so I will focus on being my best and the Lord's best today.
On Tuesday night we had an amazing lesson with a French woman named Natalie (who was at Church with one of the sister's last week) who has been facing many difficulties in life lately that have lead her to believe and rely on Go, helping her to be prepared for the Gospel message, like the poor people in Alma 32 lead to humility. We had two lessons with her last week and each time she was very open and accepting of what we were teaching her. She says that she feels like Joseph Smith did, searching for the truth but unsure of where to find it. She has a good member friend who is helping her along, and every time we have been over to her apartment and given a lesson the Spirit has been extremely strong. Though, the member does like to “prendre la parole” a little too much during our lessons; she ends up teaching more than we do.
On Saturday we had a similar lesson with a woman from Maré (a nearby loyalty island) named Céline who came to one of the free car washes we had at the Magenta chapel two weeks ago. She said that she never drove that way to come home, but that she felt inspired to drive that way that day, saw the sign for the car wash and came in and talked to one of the elders. When we went over to her apartment for a lesson she saw us and was amazed that two young girls from so far away would come to share a message about Christ with the people here. She had read the first two brochures and had marked down on another piece of paper notes and questions for us. We taught the first lesson and the Spirit was strong. As we explained the great apostasy and asked what she thought God would do next she said, "well, He has to restore His church again." We talked about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and as we finished she just looked at us and said that she knew that what we were saying was true. She said that she could see the love in our eyes that we had for her and that she believed our message. She said that we, ourselves, were a message of truth to her, and at the end she prayed for us in her native language from Maré. I am one to believe that prayers should be for the edification of all those listening and are also an indication of the how much the ami understood of what we taught, so praying in a native tongue that we don’t understand is a small issue for me. We’ll ask her to do it in French next time – we are just glad that she even desired to pray. That’s a step in the right direction. She asked if she could drive us home after our lesson and we set up another appointment with her. Sometimes I wonder if there really is anyone that wants to listen to us and that cares about the truth we are trying to share with them, and then we met people like Céline and Natalie, whom I believe have been prepared for this message. They have a thirst for the things we are sharing with them, and it makes the days of street contacting and endless porte-à-porting worth it a thousand times over.
In other news, I climbed a mango tree this week. I was jealous watching our Tahitian elder scale the chapel's mango trees with ease and decided I would do the same. It was great fun, and I only have one large scrap on my leg from the adventure. But, mango season is coming to an end, so there are no worries that Soeur Cummins will take on another.
On Sunday evening there was a fireside at the Rivière Salée building where Elder Andersen spoke from BYU, and I became a little nostalgic about attending BYU devotionals. How amazing though that even being half a world away I can still feel like I am back at home, or at least in a very familiar place. That's what the Church provides for all humanity - a very familiar place, a place near to God, the Father of our spirits.
I love this mission. I am quite a parrot each week as I write that, but it is the truest expression of how I feel about this mission of mine and the Lord's. I love the people and the language and the Gospel and the Lord. I am grateful for the opportunity to be alive and my responsibility of being a member of Christ's church.
I have probably forgotten a million of details from the week, but I have shared what I have felt will be the best for you all to hear. We are working hard. The Lord is with us. Pray for us, and know that we are ever praying for you. Combien je vous aime!
Love,
Soeur Cummins
