I feel a little bit badly because I figured out again how to make this keyboard type like an American one, but it isn't working on my companions' computers, so they are typing a little slower for the second week in a row while I am just typing away. I offered to let them use this one, but they said no. Meh.
But how are you? I am glad that you had a good time in Texas, Mom and Rachel. I was thinking about you over there. And thank you for all the pictures you sent, Dad and Grace! Those are way fun. You all are just growing up. It is really weird that I haven't seen you in 8 months...what?? It is a kind of weird thing to think that in only a month I will be hitting my half way mark... it is kind of a stressful thought. I was thinking last night about what I have accomplished on my mission so far, what has changed, what I have learned, what I have become... Is it enough? I kind of felt a sense of urgency, like I need to step it up. Not that I have been slacking the last 8 months, but I just want to make the most of this mission and do everything that the Lord expects of me. Bah!
Things are going pretty well here in Dijon. It is so different from Geneva. Some of the differences are little ones that I struggle with, like the numbers. In Switzerland they say septante, huitante, and neunante for 70, 80, and 90, but in France they say soixante-dix, quatre-vingt, and quatre-vingt-dix. Bah it is hard for me. Haha sometimes when I am taking down phone numbers I end up with really long numbers because I am used to the shorty Swiss words. Hmm I will get it soon enough. The missionary work is different too though. I was used to being around a lot of missionaries and a lot of wards that were so into missionary work. The ward here is really great, but I think they are just new at missionary work. Elder Fuller put it like this: They like missionary work, but you have to spoon feed it to them. And sometimes you have to turn the spoon into an airplane. Haha. But we are working with them and I really love them. Sundays are kind of hard though because the only bus that passes by the Church doesn't start running until the afternoon on Sundays, after Church is over. So there are a ton of investigators that want to come to Church but it is hard for them to get there. So we always have to find a ton of members to arrange rides and everything. It makes Sunday mornings really interesting. But I love seeing members step up to the plate and help out. And when the investigator has the desire to come to Church however they can, that is pretty impressive too. That says a lot about their testimony and their sincerity.
Oh, here are a couple of pictures. The first one is from Saturday. We were waiting for a bus when it started to POUR. It was kind of insane and we were soaked. Then the other one is me and Sister Smith doing a little bit of porting... Dijon has the coolest buildings. If you think of old France, you think of Dijon. It is beautiful.
So Conference is in four days!! I am so so excited. To be able to listen to a PROPHET of God is incredible. I am going to give you all the same invitation that I gave myself and everybody we invite to Conference here: Pray a lot before Conference and watch it or listen to it expecting personal revelation. Look for the influence of the Spirit and I know that you will hear something that will be just for you. What a blessing, eh? We made a bunch of invitations for Conference and have been handing them out as our pass along cards. Some people are not at all interested, but it is cool to see how even just the idea of a Prophet today makes sense to people. I am excited to hear what you think about the talks next week. Oh also, would you love to send me a copy of the May Ensign when you get it? We won't get to see the last session because of the time differences. Boo.
The other day we were on the bus and we started talking to this man that was on there. We talked to him for a bit then invited him to meet with us the next day to take a tour of the Church. So showed him around the next day and told him about what happens and Church and about the Book of Mormon and everything and invited him to pray and he did! It isn't very often that people are willing to pray, especially in the first rendez-vous. And then he came to Church on Sunday! It was really cool. One of my favorite things is hearing about what people feel while they are at Church or when they pray or read the Book of Mormon. And then helping them to realize that it is the Spirit working in them... oh, it is great. Destael, this guy that we met, said that he felt really good at Church and that it was good to pray, that he hadn't done it in awhile. He asked us how we knew to talk to him on the bus. I think that there are a lot of people here that want the truth but don't even know it until they find it, you know? I love being a missionary.
We took a roadtrip yesterday. The relief society president drove us to Etrochey, which is this tiny town about 85 kilometers away, to visit Joy, a recent convert who wants so badly to come to Church but has absolutely no way of getting there. It is a sad situation. But it was neat to drive through France. Beautiful. We drove over La Seine. I still can't believe sometimes that I live in France. I am excited for you to see it sometime.
Ok well my time is running short. I love you a lot! I am SO grateful for the family that I have. Mom and Dad, thank you for being such a great example. We kids are really really blessed. I love you all and miss you and can not wait to talk to you in a few weeks! Enjoy Conference this weekend! I LOVE YOU!
Love,
ALLIE
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