Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Emotional overload.

OMGOODNESS people. Talk about a WEEK. 

First off, BROOKELYN SHEA PREATOR congratulations. Ah, I laughed and cried simultaneously when I read the news. It finally hit me that yes I'm really not going to be there and it broke my heart, but I am SO HAPPY FOR Y'ALL. You look so sooo soooo good and happy and the ring is beautiful. YOUR'E GETTING MARRIED. Ah, I die. 

Kenzie JOHNS, darlin your roommates look so awesome. BYU is so great you are going to love it, but don't freak out if you're not sure about it yet. k? 

Mom and Dad y'all are looking as good as ever. Aubs I'm so glad you loved the chocolate :) 

Also can someone tell me about this war that is going on between the US and France and Syria?????? People keep trying to explain it to me in French, but I can't tell if it's a big deal or something to be scared of or not. Love those language barriers. But seriously, TGFBelgium. hah. 

So mission life... 

MOST EXCITING NEWS: 
-Last night Joycley committed to be baptized!!! on September 17th! Ah, I am so beyond happy for her. This gospel is exactly what she wants and needs. It's her missing piece. Pray for her to continue to feel good about all of this :) 

-On Saturday we helped two people move in a row, one from a 4th story apartment to a house, and the other from a house to a 4th story apartment (I think I lost 8 pounds in one day, haha). We were going off shredded wheat and waffles from 8:30AM-8:00PM. Needless to say, we were BEAT and famished. Well, we finished and walked out of the apartment and saw our bus pass the bus stop which means we would have had to wait another 30 minutes. Soeur Foster and I looked and each other and just said "No freakin way" and then SPRINTED to the next bus stop and beat the bus there. NBD. 

-I had exchanges in Brussels with Soeur McGee who is dying this transfer (aka. going home) it was crazy. But we saw a lot of miracles on our exchange, including committing someone to be baptized in the first lesson and them saying, YES. Love it. 

-We had interviews and Zone conference and I never cease to be amazed by how inspired President and Soeur Poznanski are. They talked all about the importance of finding families and Soeur Poznanski shared her parents story. Not a dry eye. 

-Elder Oaks was supposed to speak to the mission next week, but he can't anymore BECAUSE they are creating a THIRD stake in FRANCE. AND AND AND VANNES IS BECOMING A WARD. Fair trade in my book. France is slowly, but surely progressing :) It is amazing too because they challenged us in June to find 100 people who are ready for baptism and baptize 'em before Elder Oaks arrives and we hit it this week!!! 100 baptisms in 3 months is a MIRACLE in this mission. Miracles haven't ceased, even in Europe. 


Other than that, I'm doing great. I could do this forever. Lately, I've really been trying to become more effective in everything that I do: more effective in my prayers, more effective in my studies, more effective in our planning, more effective in our teaching, etc. I've learned so much lately that when you really think about what you are going to do, how you can avoid wasting time, and when you have a structure to each aspect of your day you GET SO MUCH DONE. Our lives are so structured on missions, but there is always a way to do more and get more bang for your buck. And it's really amazing to see how much the Lord is helping us out. I am getting SO MUCH out of this mission it almost doesn't feel fair. OTHERS are the ones who are supposed to be blessed, not me, but sometimes I feel like I am the only one who is getting anything out being here. 

ALSO, I wish SO badly I could take every single minute back that I sat on the computer staring at facebook, or my phone scrolling down insta. Those things are great, and there is no doubt in my mind that I will use them when I get home, but just NOT in the way I was before. I swear I could have changed the world in some significant way in the amount of time I wasted. Ayii. Learn from my mistakes and take out the needle.  

Well Y'all I love you so so so much. Thank you for your letter and packages and love. I miss you all sooooooooooo much and cannot believe I'm missing these BIG LIFE EVENTS. Kills me, but I know this is where I need to be right now. Still get that confirmation at least once every single day. 

Avec AMOUR,
Soeur Johns 

P.S. So cute, Madame Gallois, from Vannes, just sent me an email with her testimony in it because she went to church yesterday and didn't get a chance to bear it. :) Ah. It's the things like these that make everything hard so worth it.