Well, I do not think that this email will be as action-packed as some previous letters, but I will start you off with a couple of French tidbits. First, a fun French fact of the day: The word "bouillir" is the verb "to boil," so when conjugated to say "we boil," it is "bouillons," hence the little cubes you put in broth and stuff that are called chicken bouillon! I discovered that as I prepared for the TRC this week. We had to talk about food and stuff before the lesson...more on that later.
Next, a French joke. You have to say the punch line out loud for it to make sense. And pronounce it correctly. Ok, here goes: How many eggs does it take to make a French omelet? One, because one egg is un oeuf. Bahahaha.
Alrighty. How was everyone's week? I didn't hear much from ANYONE except for Mom, Rachel and Garrit, and both sets of Grandparents. And Camille. Hmm. Grace, where have you been, lady? But it's ok, the letters and packages that I did get were wonderful, thank you so much! Mom, I was so excited when I opened your box and saw all the candy. I've been having a candy fast this week (because I ate a lot last week) so I am excited to eat it on Monday!
We had another amazing Devotional this week. Elder Hinckley, who is President Hinckley's son, spoke to us. He talked about 9 practical points that we need to do to have a successful mission. One of my favorite points was to work with faith. He said that we need to trust completely in the Lord and believe that He is in control. We need to get on our knees in the morning and at night and pray HARD: for ourselves, for those we are teaching, for those we need to contact, for the ward members, for our family, for everybody. Just pray hard. And then we have to stand up and get to work, because we all know that faith is not merely a belief. We are expected to give our all and try our best to follow the promptings of the Spirit, and if we are doing that, the Lord's desires WILL be done. Because this is totally His work and I am here totally for Him. Elder Hinckley also mentioned that we can't waste any of our time here because it is not our time to waste. It was just a really good meeting. I'm not sure if you can find the transcript of it anywhere, but if you can, you should read it.
So this week was our first week of teaching completely in FRENCH in the TRC. I was a little (read: kind of a lot) nervous about it, but my companions and I had prayed and prepared a lot, especially for this one. Our French was not perfect by any means, but I understood everything that the investigator said (which really surprised me) and was able to respond (albeit very very simply). It was kind of a jumble when we were just explaining parts of the lesson, but when we testified from our hearts, that is when the Spirit was so strong. It's so amazing because I know that my French doesn't even have to be perfect, but as long as I am able to invite the Spirit, it will be effective. The Holy Ghost is what confirms truth to the people (including myself) and makes them want to know more. It really is the coolest thing. And if I can experience that here in the MTC with people who are already members, imagine how powerful it could be with people who NEED this in their lives? I can't wait.
I'm so looking forward to getting to Switzerland. At the same time though, I am kind of getting sad for my zone to all go their separate ways. You make some pretty good friends (even with 19 year old boys) when you spend all day every day with them. Sister Kenny found out this week that she is leaving to Madagascar a week earlier than us, so that will be really sad too. These people are amazing, and even in just 5 weeks, we have become really close.
We played two games of soccer again this week. Wednesday night was not my best... it ended in a draw, but we took some team pictures, so I will send those home eventually. Monday night, though, was awesome. We won (even though we're not supposed to keep score) and yours truly scored TWO of those goals. Yes, two. Against Spanish sisters. That was the first time I've scored a goal since that one time I played soccer in 6th grade. I felt pretty good about it. I like playing soccer better than volleyball these days because I actually get to run and burn calories. It's great.
Last Sunday I was asked to offer the prayer in sacrament meeting... in French, of course. It went great. I definitely wrote out a prayer the night before so I could practice it and sound good, but it was still from the heart. Each week, the Branch President assigns us a topic and everybody has to write a 5 minute talk in French, and then each Sunday he chooses two missionaries to give their talks. I had a decent one prepared, but since I gave the prayer I didn't have to give my talk. I'm expecting to have to give one sometime, though, since there are only a few sisters, and I feel like the chances for us having to speak are higher than the 60 elders. Oh well, it's good practice.
Oh man, I'm sorry that this email is not one of my better ones. I will be better prepared next week with some amazing stories. For practice and for your translating pleasure, I will say a few things to you in French though:
Je sais que cette eglise est l'eglise de Jesus-Christ est qu'il est notre Sauveur et Redempteur. Dieu est notre Pere celeste est il nous aime BEAUCOUP. Son plan pour nous est incroyable et je suis tres reconnaisante pour l'occasion a etre avec vous a jamais. Je sais que Joseph Smith etait un prophete de Dieu et que le Livre de Mormon est essentiel. Nous l'avons besion parce qu'il temoigne de Jesus-Christ.
Ok time is running out so it's back to English. I just love you all very much and am grateful for your prayers and love and support and everything. Write me letters:) I'll write back, promise.
Love,
ALLIE
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